Vegas Nights
by Fawkes' Feather
Summary: Two roommates, Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto, take a short trip to Vegas, unknowing that chance meetings will change their lives for better...or for worse. AU. Rated M for sexual content and foul language plenty of that. Various pairings.
1. The Chippendales

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto and all his friends…I'd be ecstatic. As it is, I don't. So I'll content myself with owning this story. Not the characters.

DisclaimerII: **None** of the universities, hotels, companies, franchises etc. mentioned in this fiction are mine. I'm just using them for my benefit.

A/N: I haven't ever seen the Chippendales live (not meeting the age requirement or having the desire) so everything described is a product of my own imagination as to what it would be like. Haha. Also, as I haven't been to NYU or Columbia, my knowledge of their programs extends to whatever information their websites offer. Factual mistakes will be prevalent, I'm sure, so I apologize for them in advance. Before I forget, this will be a two-part story. First, it's Kiba's turn (this chapter) and then Naruto's turn (next chapter).

"Oh. My. God." Inuzuka Kiba muttered angrily to himself, his eyes wide and horrified. "Oh. My. Fucking. God." He jumped suddenly and covered his face, moaning as if he was in pain. And he was.

On the stage in front of him was a group of scantily dressed men, prancing around as a sensual beat played lazily in the air. A horde of women swirled around the stage, drooling over the rippling muscles of the men who were seemingly perfect. Oh, he was going to _murder_ Naruto, who was standing beside him, staring avidly at the dancers onstage. As if sensing his burning glare, the man in question finally turned to pay attention to him.

"Alright there, Kiba?" Uzumaki Naruto asked, grinning at his best friend. "You look a bit upset." Naruto's blue eyes regarded him with feigned concern, though Kiba could hear the laughter that was going on inside his roommate's head.

"_Upset!_" he exploded, his temper flaring. "Of course I'm upset, Uzumaki! You promised me…" Kiba trailed off as he remembered the exact words that the blonde had said when he had been told of their evening's activities. "Oh. My. God." He raked a hand through his hair, his face a picture of disbelief.

"Ahhh," Naruto chuckled, "figured it out, have you?"

"I'm going to _kill_ you, Uzumaki!" Kiba growled, clenching his fists. "If you haven't noticed already, I'm _not _gay! I certainly don't get off watching…THAT!" he motioned wildly toward the stage where a well-built man with chestnut colored hair and a smooth, chiseled chest was gyrating his hips as he slowly unzipped his tight, pleather pants, much to the delight of the crowd.

"Well, if you're not gay already, you will be." Naruto said vaguely, his eyes following every movement.

"DAMMIT, is that your plan?" Kiba's eyes widened as much as humanly possible and he sputtered incoherently, too irate to form a complete word.

"Shut up, Inuzuka. I'm watching—ooh, now that's real nice." The blonde was practically salivating by now and the man on stage was halfway through taking off his pants. Kiba turned away, contemplating all the painful, bloody ways he could (and would) murder his roommate.

"Sure, promise me a 'night of wanton pleasure, sure to seduce me'," the brunette growled, repeating words he had heard earlier that evening. "I should have known he'd pull a stunt like this. My first trip to Vegas and I end up watching the Chippendales with my gay best friend. I'm going to kill him. Yep. He's going _down_." He surfaced from his quiet anger when he noticed the screams and catcalls rising in volume. A quick glance at the stage confirmed his worst fears; the dancer was clad only in a bowtie and a black loincloth.

"Oh come on! Take it all off!" Naruto yelled, jumping up and down. His actions earned him a wink and a grin from the man onstage and he swooned overdramatically. "Be still, my heart," he moaned, clutching his chest, a look of stupid ecstasy on his face. Kiba scowled deeper and elbowed Naruto in the side.

"Christ, I'm getting out of here before he jumps up there and begs that dancer to screw him right then and there."

"You know I'd do it, too," Naruto whooped, the expression on his face screaming mischief. "Thanks for the idea, pal." He slung an arm over Kiba's shoulders, which the other quickly threw off.

"No you don't!" Kiba shouted. "It's bad enough I'm in here, watching that! I _will not_ be mistaken as being your gay boy toy." Naruto's only answer was to bat thick, blonde eyelashes at him, his lips in a full pout, before quickly turning back to the performance. "I'm going to the bathroom," he snapped finally, throwing his hands up in defeat. It wasn't like Naruto was paying any attention to him. Rolling his brown eyes and still muttering darkly to himself about the dangers of Naruto's 'gay hormones,' as he had dubbed them, Kiba fought his way past the hordes of woman and men (who he assumed were gay). In his irritation, he failed to watch where he was going and walked straight into a group of girls.

"Sorry. Excuse me, ladies," he winked jauntily, throwing them his best smile. His efforts were wasted since their attention was focused solely on the strip tease occurring onstage.

Kiba scowled again, finding another reason he hated the Chippendales. The club was full of young, hot, (mostly) single women but none of them were paying the least bit of attention to him. And, _anyway_, he thought savagely, it was enough to demolish a young man's ego watching those men up there, with those unnaturally sculpted bodies. He worked damn hard at the gym and _still_ hadn't achieved the amount of muscles that all the dancers had. It was downright unfair.

"Hmph, I _really_ don't see why you dragged me here, TenTen." Kiba turned toward the voice, eager to find at least one other person in the room full of estrogen (and 'gay hormones') that was equally uncomfortable. He wasn't disappointed; the man who had spoken was scowling alternately at the stage and at the petite girl beside him.

"Oh, stop complaining, Neji," the girl replied flippantly, motioning a gesture of dismissal in his face. Kiba nearly laughed as Neji's eyebrow twitched. "I'm having fun, isn't that what matters? Besides, you said we could do what _I_ wanted tonight." She adjusted on of the two buns perched on the top of her head.

"Yeah, well, this wasn't what I had in mind and you know it." Neji pouted, shaking his long, loose ponytail. Then, as he felt Kiba's curious stare, Neji glanced up and his alarmingly light grey eyes met Kiba's. It was nearly instantaneous: they knew right away that they had found a sympathetic soul amidst the sea of rabid girls.

"Hey man, tough luck," Kiba smiled, holding out his hand, which the other took. "Inuzuka Kiba."

"Hyuuga Neji. Damn, this isn't what I had in mind!"

"Me neither. But at least you're with a girl. _I_ was _tricked_ into coming here with my gay roommate."

"Yeah, _this one_ here," Neji threw TenTen a glare, which she ignored, "insisted on coming here. My fault though," he conceded regretfully, "I shouldn't have let her choose." He shrugged ruefully.

"She your girl?" Kiba asked, noting that TenTen was pretty cute, with her petite frame and pixie-like facial features.

"Yeah," Neji answered, a defensive tone creeping into his voice. "Watch it."

"Whoa, I was just asking. Sorry." The other boy relaxed and became slightly more friendly, though Kiba saw that he was careful to keep his back to the stage. The two chatted casually, Kiba finding out that Neji was a year older than himself and that he and his group of friends were staying in the same hotel that Kiba and Naruto were, though on a higher floor. They also talked to each other about the universities they attended, Neji admitting that he and his cousin, along with a close family friend, would be moving soon.

"So are you excited about it?"

"I suppose. NYU offers one of the better English programs in the country, which is perfect for my cousin. And it's near enough to Columbia that I can keep an eye on her. Her father's pretty happy about that. I'm not so sure how happy _she_ is."

"You're going to Columbia?" Kiba raised an eyebrow. The tuition for NYU was already pretty steep, factoring the tuition for Columbia, as well as living expenses for the two of them, Kiba figured they must be pretty loaded. Or smart enough to merit scholarships which would take care of the costs.

"Yes. Which is why I am here." Neji sighed almost sadly. "TenTen's going to UCLA in the fall so I thought we should spend as much time together as possible."

"Ouch. That's rough, man, being all the way across the country. Long distance relationships suck."

"Thanks for the encouragement," the man's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Well then, go and enjoy watching your girlfriend drool over nearly-naked men. It's the last time you'll see her in a long time." Kiba laughed, pushing the other toward her.

"Hmph. Our last trip until who-knows-when and she drags me here of all places." Neji continued to mutter darkly about his misfortunes when he was suddenly pushed aside by two very excited girls.

"Oh, TenTen, you see that!" One of them squealed. She was slim, slightly taller than the girl she was addressing and, to Kiba's surprise, had vivid pink hair. "He's _gorgeous_."

"Keep dreaming, Sakura-Big Forehead, because he's mine." A girl with white-blonde hair cut in, smirking at her friend.

"Oh yeah, Ino-Pig?" Sakura-Big Forehead retorted, animosity suddenly sparking between the two. "What makes you think he'd want someone as," her light green eyes raked scornfully over the blonde's body, "challenged in the looks department as you beats me. He'll want someone like _me_."

"Wanna bet on that?" Ino-Pig growled, glaring daggers at Sakura, who returned with an equally icy stare.

"Hey, are they with you?" Kiba asked, leaning closer to Neji so he could ask questions without the girls overhearing. The Hyuuga nodded almost imperceptibly. "Um, are they supposed to be friends?"

"Believe it or not, they're best friends. But they bicker over everything. I'm only glad they didn't set their sights on me. They almost ripped Sasuke in half, one time." He cracked a wicked smile. "That was a sight to see." TenTen called his name and his attention was diverted.

"Huh?" Kiba was lost but before he could question Neji further, he was pushed gently aside as another girl joined the group in front of him.

"Excuse me," the newcomer smiled shyly, bowing her head. Her voice was high and sweet and her hair was cut almost boyishly. As he nodded to her, Kiba saw that her facial features vaguely resembled his new friend's: their eyes were the same shape and even the same strange color.

"It was no problem," he paused, waiting for her to supply her name, a wide grin on his face as he took a step closer to her. She blushed deeply and ducked her head, breaking the eye contact he had initiated.

"H-Hinata," she replied in such a small voice it was nearly a whisper.

"Hinata," he finished. "Nice to meet you. Inuzuka Kiba, at your service." Her blush became more pronounced and she busied herself with pressing her two index fingers together; a nervous habit, he thought, a _cute_ nervous habit.

"Oi, Hinata, you want get a bite to eat?" Neji turned to her. His eyes took in her blush and Kiba's smile in a flash. "I think it'd be a good idea if we got out of here so Ino and Sakura stop fighting over the guys."

"S-s-sure, Neji-kun," she replied in her small voice, her lips curling into a pretty smile.

"Is she the cousin you were telling me about?" Kiba asked, still gazing at the girl in front of him.

"That's her. You'll have to excuse her, she's extremely shy."

"Oh, but—but Neji-kun," she began to protest.

"Come on, let's get out of here." The group began to make their way to the door when Neji stopped, looking over his shoulder. "Well? Aren't you coming, Inuzuka?" The brunette raised an eyebrow, even as he followed the five friends.

"I wasn't aware I was invited."

"Now you are. Hurry up, I've gotta get out of here before I feel the urge to kill something." It took the six of them a while to force their way past the mob and, though the outside air was stiflingly hot compared to the relative comfort of the air-conditioning in the club, Kiba breathed a sigh of relief. After a large amount of squabbling and bickering, which seemed to be a favorite pastime of the friends, they decided to eat at the Hard Rock Café.

When they were seated and situated with glasses of water and menus, Kiba remembered, with a jolt, that he had entered the club with a certain blonde friend of his own and had just, technically, ditched said friend. The "angel" side of him scolded him for leaving without telling Naruto, which, it reasoned, would make him worry. Kiba scoffed, brushing the thought away. They were grown men and Naruto could fend for himself. Besides, they each had a room key and Kiba assumed that Naruto wasn't such an idiot that he didn't know they were staying at New York New York. He figured that he'd be able to make his way back to the hotel, and if he didn't, well, that was his own problem. Besides, it served the idiot right if he _did_ worry about Kiba's whereabouts; after all, he wouldn't have left the club if it hadn't been the Chippendales.

"Hello? Earth to Space Man Kiba!" The brunette jumped and blinked, coming out of his reverie to stare straight into Sakura's palm. He turned quizzically to her and she giggled.

"Does anyone know where Sasuke-kun is?" Hinata asked, taking a dainty sip from her glass of water.

"Beats me. Last time I saw him, he had some hot blonde practically glued to his crotch. So either they're still at the club, practically screwing over their clothes, or Sasuke's shagging like a bunny in a hotel room God-knows-where." Sakura replied, shrugging, apparently unconcerned at the blunt comments coming from her mouth.

"Wait, really?" Neji called from further down the table. "Shit, d'you remember if he brought a condom with him?"

"Umm," Sakura tapped her chin thoughtfully, tilting her head back to face the ceiling. "I'm not sure but—I think he did. He usually does."

"Sasuke-kun's a family friend. He and Neji-kun have known each other since they were practically born," Hinata said quietly, apparently noticing the lost expression on Kiba's face.

"So he picked up a hottie, huh?" Neji asked, grinning, apparently satisfied with Sakura's answer. "What did he look like?"

"Blue eyes, tall, built. Gorgeous smile." Sakura sighed wistfully. "Too bad Sasuke got to him first."

"So Sasuke's gay?" Kiba sputtered, choking on his water. Everyone turned to him, Sakura's expression becoming hostile in a split second.

"What, you have a problem with it?" she snapped and Kiba leaned away from her slightly. "Because if you do, I suggest you get the hell away from me."

"No, no, that's not what I meant. My best friend is gay, after all. I was just asking and then I choked on my water. Went down the wrong pipe." He chuckled sheepishly.

"That's okay, Kiba-kun," Hinata said encouragingly. "Sasuke-kun's just a really, _really _good friend of ours and we get a bit defensive when people question his lifestyle."

"Ah, I know how it is. My best friend's been beaten up more times than I can count , just because he's gay." The brunette shrugged, scowling. "People can be so close-minded, it's amazing." Everyone nodded in agreement just as the waitress came by to take their order. When she bustled away, promising their food in 'just a few,' a short silence settled on the table.

"Hinata, why do you add 'koon' after a name?"

"It's 'kun' and I'm from Japan, so it's more of a habit than anything," Hinata replied, a blush coloring her pale cheeks. "I can stop if you don't like it."

"No! Just curious. I think it's cute." At his words, the blush spread until she resembled a ripe strawberry. Throughout the evening, she engaged him in deep conversation, especially interested when she found out that he was going to NYU. As she bombarded him with eager questions about the campus and the city, he noticed that Neji was watching the two of them like a hawk, an unreadable expression on his face. Hinata noticed his distraction and looked around to Neji, scowling slightly. Even in his discomfort, Kiba found that Hinata was extremely cute when she was irritated.

"Don't mind him, Kiba-kun. He's just overprotective." She swiped her bangs out of her face and gave him a brilliant smile; it was so unexpected that he very nearly fell off his chair. "Are—are you okay?" she asked tentatively, her eyebrows furrowing at his strange reaction. "Are you ill?"

"N-no," he stuttered, still staring at her, even as his mouth formed a huge grin. "It's just that—you've got a gorgeous smile." Shock made him blunt and he winced inwardly, knowing he sounded so completely unromantic. Hinata failed to notice, however, and she beamed at him, more brightly than before, even as she blushed. She quickly changed the subject and soon, they were back to comfortable, un-awkward territory. As they talked, exchanging ideas about everything from books to music to politics, he realized that she was becoming much more comfortable with him, judging by the animation and feeling in her voice that hadn't been there before.

She had a sharp-tongue and was quite witty, once she was comfortable expressing her opinions. He also found that she was very passionate about her beliefs and could become feisty when she felt they were being threatened. She was open minded but unyielding about one thing: her perseverance. Listening to her talk about all the obstacles she'd overcome in order to be able to attend a university so far from her home, he knew that she was a person who would never give up, even if she failed miserably in the end.

He'd had plenty of girlfriends before, never one to enjoy being alone, but this was the first time he had ever liked a girl who could be his equal. He was smart, almost dauntingly so, and he was also handsome. Yet, in his previous experiences, he had always chosen a girl he could easily dominate, someone who would listen to him without question, one who wouldn't challenge him in the relationship. Hinata was, for lack of a better word, amazing and was probably the only woman he had ever liked who would challenge him wholeheartedly if he went out of line.

"Oi, you two, we're leaving now." Kiba looked up, surprised to find that everyone was standing. A quick glance at his watch told him that it was nearly midnight.

"Hinata, how would you like to go out with me for a drink?"

"Like a date?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Yeah, like a date."

"I would like that, yes."

"Are you two coming or not?" Neji called impatiently, wanting to leave. TenTen and the others were already out the door.

"We'll catch up with you later, okay, Neji-kun?"

"Oh?" Neji sauntered over to them. "And how long will you two be out?" The question was directed at Kiba, who gulped, upon seeing the almost dangerous warning on the previously friendly man's face.

"Not too late. I'll have her home before three, at the latest." Neji appeared about to protest but Kiba kept talking. "I just want to talk to her, get to know her better. I won't do anything, if that's what you're worried about, and I'll make sure nothing happens."

"I'm not a little girl anymore, Neji-kun," Hinata piped up, impatience in her countenance. "I like him, it's fun talking to him."

"Fine, fine, but I swear, Kiba, if anything happens to her, I'll rip you limb from limb," Neji growled and the brunette gulped.

"I'll keep that in mind." With a last warning glare at the pair of them, Neji followed his girlfriend out of the restaurant. As soon as he was gone, Kiba relaxed, turning to Hinata. "Let's get outta here."

Once they found a bar and were seated in a private corner, their conversation picked up right where it left off and Kiba found himself laughing at Hinata's easy blush, much to her embarrassment. It had been so long since he'd actually had a conversation with a girl without any awkward pauses; it was ridiculously effortless to talk to Hinata.

* * *

"Shit, your cousin is going to kill me," Kiba muttered as he stumbled from the bar, struggling to keep Hinata standing. "How many of those daiquiris did you have, anyway?" 

"Jussshhht—um," Hinata tittered, "what was I shayyying agaiiin?" She went really quiet and very still, a puzzled look on her face as she tried to force her drunk brain into concentrating. "Oh! I remember now! I had shi-_hic_-cks."

"Shit, shit, shit." He hadn't noticed that she'd been consuming so many of the frozen alcoholic beverages but, he thought, they weren't that strong in the first place.

"Thanksshhh, Kiba-kuuun," she drawled, throwing her arms around his neck and planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek. "My firssht time drinking!" she giggled, releasing him and starting to walk away. "It wash fun, ne?" He groaned, catching her when she nearly fell.

"No wonder. Why didn't you tell me? Better yet, why'd you drink so much?" He sighed. "You're cousin is going to _kill_ me."

"S'okay," Hinata slurred, swaying from side-to-side as she walked, "he'sh like a biiiig teddy bear!"

"And I'm Napoleon," he said to himself. "Right. Okay, I'm taking you back to my hotel room. See if I can get you sobered up a bit before I bring you back to yours." Slowly, they made their way to New York New York and Kiba thanked the gods when the elevator arrived nearly the second he arrived. He breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the room he was sharing with Naruto, hoping the blonde wouldn't be inside. He hadn't wanted to share but they had limited funds and he supposed one nice room in a cool hotel was better than two in a dingy motel on the outskirts of the city.

"Oooh, lookie!" Hinata giggled, pointing as Kiba opened the door. He had been watching her for any signs of illness (no _way_ was he going to let her puke on him if he could help it) but he followed the direction of her finger and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Holy shit!" he yelped, freezing in his tracks.

The first thing Kiba realized was that Naruto was not alone. The second thing was that Naruto was with another man and the two were in the midst of a passionate, lust-crazed shag. The third and most horrific thing he noticed was the fact that they weren't only shagging _right in front of him_ but that they were also shagging _on his bed_, dirtying his sheets with…he shuddered, violently stopping his train of thought.

The two turned to look at him and he slowly backed away, not liking the mischief on his friend's face as the blonde deliberately thrust hard into his partner, who cried out, gripping the headboard.

"Harder!" the stranger cried, panting. Naruto smirked at the brunette and then pressed a kiss to his partner's neck, licking and nipping at the skin.

"Motherfucker," Kiba cursed, grabbing Hinata's wrist and yanking her from the room, slamming the door behind him. He leaned against the closed door for a moment, rubbing his hands, but a moan that echoed into the hallway propelled him away in an instant. "Guess we'll just head to your floor, then," he mumbled unhappily. "Let's just hope we can get to your room without Neji noticing, okay?" She nuzzled his neck with the top of her head, hiccupping drunkenly, and he took that as her consent. Again, he made the laborious trek to the elevator and convinced her to get inside. It took some work since, in her inebriated state, she was utterly terrified of elevators. By the time they reached her floor and he was digging through her small purse to find her key, Kiba was exhausted.

As soon as elevator opened, Hinata nearly fell over in her haste to get out of the elevator and the brunette decided that it would be easier and safer if he held her close to him. Debating between asking the gods if they hated him or loved him, Kiba pulled the girl to him, an action she didn't seem to mind. When he wrapped one arm around her waist, careful to keep from accidentally touching anything he shouldn't, she sighed happily and leaned in closer. They walked down the hall and she seemed to do just fine, her weight steadied and supported by his larger frame. He was just sticking the key into the door when Neji sauntered out, an ice-bucket in his arms.

"Back already? You've still got time." Neji seemed to be in a good mood and Kiba prayed that he wouldn't be able to tell that Hinata was completely trashed.

"Uh, yeah, it got crowded in the bar and we decided we'd be able to talk better if we came back here." Kiba's heart was thumping in his chest as Neji contemplated the idea, nodding as if it made sense. Suddenly, the boy's face darkened and he stepped closer to the two.

"Hinata-kun?"

"Ohhh, Neji-kuuun, what're you doing'ere?" The girl asked, narrowing her unfocused eyes at her cousin. She attempted to walk toward him but tripped over her own feet, sprawling ungracefully at his feet. "Oops!"

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Her?" Neji growled, yanking Hinata none-too-gently away from the brunette.

"I didn't do anything to her, I swear!" Kiba defended himself, backing away from the irate raven. "We were talking and I guess she drank more than she could take."

"And you didn't stop her?"

"Honestly, I didn't really notice. I thought she could handle it and by the time I realized she couldn't and stopped her, she was already like this."

"Neji-kun, Kiba-kun ish reaaaalllyyyy sweeet. I like himm," Hinata mumbled, stepping away from her cousin and toward Kiba. "He wush gonna take meh to the room."

"To do what?" Neji asked, a dangerous note in his voice.

"Get her into bed." Kiba paled when he heard the double meaning of what he just said. Neji's expression darkened further and veins started to pop along the sides of his face, near his eyes. "NO! Not like _that_! I wanted to get her into bed so she could sleep off the alcohol. She's going to have a hell of a hangover tomorrow and I wanted to do anything and everything to make sure it's not as bad as it could be."

"Come on, Neji-kun. Leave him 'lone," Hinata tugged on his shirt sleeve. "I can take care of myself."

"Not in that state you can't," Neji protested but he relinquished his hold on his cousin, the veins disappearing as his expression softened. "Fine. But take good care of her, will you, Kiba?"

"You betcha," the brunette smiled. The raven disappeared down the hall and Kiba opened the door, gently leading Hinata inside. "Now, what are we going to do with you?"

"Ooooh," Hinata moaned, suddenly a little green around the gills. "I feel sick." Kiba took one look at her and began to rush her toward the small bathroom, much to her chagrin, though she stopped speaking halfway there and clamped her mouth shut. _Shit, I think she's going to_—he heaved a sigh of relief when he managed to get her head over the toilet bowl before she vomited. Wrinkling his nose slightly at the smell, Kiba took care to hold her short hair away from her face.

As she puked violently, she began to tremble, crying as she did so. Alarmed, he rubbed her back with one hand, his other full of her soft, black hair. She stopped vomiting but still leaned against the toilet, her head hanging over the water, sobbing almost convulsively. He reached up and grabbed a fistful of toilet paper, using it to wipe her mouth and face, before continuing to rub her back, murmuring soothing words to her. It was apparent to him that she had never gotten so drunk and the poor thing was terrified.

"Hurts," she whimpered, clutching either side of her head. "Kiba-kun, it hurts." The sound of her small voice wrenched his heart, even though he knew the pain would pass sooner or later.

"Let's get you into bed, okay?" She didn't answer him so he scooped her up in his arms, taking extra care not to jostle her excessively and brought her to the bed, laying her down. Almost immediately, she tried to push back the decorative bed cover and crawl under the bed sheets but Kiba stopped her. She pushed at him but he held firm.

"Wanna sleeeep," she whined.

"Not yet, Hinata-kun," he said softly, adding the '-kun' to her name. _Maybe it'll calm her down somewhat_. Carefully so as not to startle her into misinterpreting his actions, he unbuttoned her grey sweatshirt and removed it, laying it on the sofa beside her bed. He took off her slacks and sandals, then smoothed her hair before allowing her to curl up under the covers.

"Thank you, Kiba-kun," she murmured, as she drifted into an alcohol-hazed slumber. He allowed a smile to ghost over his lips as he bent down and kissed her on the forehead.

"It was my pleasure."

* * *

"Owww." A beam of sunlight passed the closed curtains, hitting Kiba smack on the face. He wrinkled his nose reflexively and snorted softly, rolling over. "Oowwww." His eyes snapped open, irritated. If Naruto was moaning because of a hangover, he could damn well moan quietly. But, when his tired brain finally kicked on, he realized he wasn't in his bed or his dorm room and it wasn't the blonde idiot who was moaning. It was Hinata, who was hunched over in the bed, framed by pillows and bedsheets.

"Hinata, are you okay?" he asked softly.

"Not so loud, Kiba-kun." She gave a little gasp and curled up, shaking slightly. "Oooww."

"I take it you're not having such a good morning, are you?" he whispered, smiling wryly. She shook her head but the movement must have hurt because she cried out, tears forming in her eyes. "Yeah, not a good idea."

She gasped, "I think I'm going to be sick," before she took off for the bathroom. He heard the sounds of her vomiting again and hurried after her, grabbing a coke from the mini-bar as he went to check on her. She was sitting with her head leaning against the toilet rim, tears rolling silently down her cheeks. He sat down beside her, squeezing himself into the small space.

"Here, it'll help you feel better." He handed her the open coke but she pushed it away. "Seriously," he insisted, bringing it to her lips. She took a tentative sip, then began to drink greedily. "Whoa, not so fast, the fizz'll go up your nose." When the can was empty, she dropped it. At the sound of it clattering on the cold tile floor, Hinata whimpered and buried her face in Kiba's neck. He blinked in surprise but he had to admit that he rather liked the feeling. Tenderly, he picked her up and brought her back to the bed, where she snuggled against the pillows, her eyes lucid.

"Feeling better?" he asked, seating himself on the sofa.

"A little. But…Kiba-kun, what happened last night?" her face scrunched up as she thought. "I remember we were talking and then…after that everything goes fuzzy." She paled suddenly, her hurting brain seeming to have put two and two together. "I got drunk, didn't I?"

"Not just drunk, dear, smashed," Kiba replied.

"And then what happened?" Her pretty face was fearful. "Did you…I mean…did we…?"

"NO!" Kiba insisted vehemently, in a voice that was a little too loud for her liking. "No, we didn't do anything. You didn't do anything stupid, though you had a really hard time walking. I just brought you here and took care of you."

"You…took care of me?"

"That's all that happened. I swear."

"Oh, damn it, and Neji-kun, did he—?" As though he had heard her call his name, Neji burst through the door, smirking broadly.

"Good morning, my dear cousin," he beamed, looking incredibly satisfied about something.

"O-ohayougozaimasu," Hinata whispered, wrinkling her nose. Kiba's eyebrow furrowed at the odd response but figured it must have something to do with Hinata's Japanese roots. Neji slammed the door shut, apparently not noticing the whimper his cousin let out at the noise, and bounced into the room, whistling loudly. Kiba hadn't known the other for very long but he was _certain_ that Neji was not the type to whistle; in which case he felt a suspicion that the raven was making so much noise on purpose. "P-please, Neji-kun, not so much noise."

"What? Why?"

"Because I—I have a headache." The girl blushed deeply as she half-lied.

"And this is because you had a little too much to drink last night, right?" Hinata started, staring up at her cousin with large round eyes.

"Oh! Neji-kun, you—you won't tell otou-san about—about it, right?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"You know why, Neji-kun!" her soft voice began to rise in her panic. "If h-he thinks that American culture is c-corrupting me, he won't let me stay here! You can't tell him, Neji-kun, please!" The raven stared at her with his light grey eyes, his expression stern. Hinata was just about to open her mouth to plead her case some more when it softened and he chuckled, sitting down on the bed.

"What your father doesn't know, won't hurt him. Besides, he's too protective of you as it is. Live a little." Neji lightly punched her shoulder. "Just don't get so smashed next time, alright?" Really, it was a bit hypocritical of Neji to be calling this "otou-san" protective, since the young man was almost like an very grumpy guard dog concerning his younger cousin. Then again, Kiba mentally shrugged, maybe "otou-san" was even more protective of Hinata, which would explain why she'd never really drunk anything alcoholic before.

"Hai. Arigatou."

"Well, it's getting late and I promised TenTen's mother we'd be back before 7 p.m. so we've gotta get going. Sorry, Kiba."

"Hey, it's no problem," he replied, feeling a twinge of disappointment that he wouldn't get to spend more time with the girl he'd just met.

"Neji-kun?" Hinata asked, pointedly, her eyes boring into her cousin's.

"Hai, hai, I'll leave you two alone now." He turned and left the room, his smirk even more pronounced.

"I'm very sorry that I wasn't better company," Hinata said, looking down at the blankets.

"No, no, it wasn't that bad. I had fun talking to you. Besides, you're pretty funny when you get drunk."

"Th-thank you, very much, for—you know—taking care of me. I—I really appreciate it." She still wouldn't look at him, her face hidden by her bangs. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have gotten drunk. You must think that I'm so stupid."

"Hey, it's okay." Kiba captured her chin with his fingers, gently forcing her to look at him. "We all make mistakes. I've been so drunk I couldn't even stand. Hell, I've gotten so drunk I passed out, right then and there. So don't feel bad. And don't beat yourself up about it. I don't think you're stupid. Besides," he grinned, "it's all part of the learning experience. Haven't lived life if you've never gotten drunk at least once."

Hinata smiled at him, a large one, and she leaned forward, quickly kissing him on the lips. It was a chaste kiss, just the meeting of lips, but Kiba had never felt so…electrified. When she pulled away from him, she was blushing but the smile hadn't left her face. Without thinking, he leaned in again, pressing his lips to hers. She kissed back, tentatively, and he deepened the kiss, sweeping his tongue across her lips, asking for entrance, which she gave him. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist, scooting her closer to the bed. Her hands wrapped around his neck, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. After a few moments, she pulled away, resting her forehead against his.

"I should get going now, Kiba-kun," she said. "Neji-kun and the others will be waiting for me."

"Yeah," he breathed, not wanting to let go of her, not wanting to let her leave. She averted her eyes and let go of his neck, reluctantly, he noticed. "Will I—can I see you again? When—when you get to New York, would you want to do something?"

"I would love to," she replied, brightening at the suggestion. "But, how should we contact each other?"

"Here, why don't I give you my email and you can message me when you arrive. How does that sound?" Without waiting for an answer, he reached over and grabbed the pad of paper and pen that was customary at hotels and wrote his email as neatly as he could, so there would be no lost communication. She took it and stood, the paper clutched tightly in her hand.

"I look forward to seeing you again, Kiba-kun."

"Me too." He got to his feet and kissed her on the forehead. "See you."

"Definitely." As the door closed behind him, he turned and walked down the carpeted hallway toward the elevator, figuring he would go and see if Naruto was decent yet. When the elevator opened, he stepped aside, allowing a slim-built raven-haired man to exit as he entered.

Upon entering the hotel room he was supposed to have shared with Naruto, he wrinkled his nose. It smelled like…well, like sex. Naruto was dressed, his hair wet and disheveled, like he had just taken a shower.

"Hey, have a good night?" Kiba asked wryly. The blonde just stared absently at the door, looking slightly punch-drunk. "Naruto?"

"What?" He stared at the brunette as though he'd only just noticed another presence in the room. "Did you say something?"

"I asked if you had a good night."

"Depends on what you would call 'good," the blonde replied, putting a finger to his lips, laughing wryly. "I don't want to talk about it," he said abruptly, in response to Kiba's unasked question.

"Okay, I won't ask then." Kiba refused to let his mood be dampened and he clapped his best friend on the shoulder. "What say you to getting something to eat before we head to the airport? We've got a few hours to kill before our flight."

"Sure." Naruto shrugged and headed outside, refusing to meet his friend's questioning gaze. Kiba stared after him, wondering what had happened after he and Hinata had walked in on something they shouldn't have seen.

And they left the hotel, the air around them milling with unasked questions and unsaid things.

* * *

Two months later, Kiba was in his dorm room, casually checking his email as he ignored his blonde friend, who was passionately making out with his new boyfriend on the couch.

Excitedly clicking on an email sent by an address he recognized all too well, his eyes widened considerably. He was quiet for a moment, allowing the email to register in his head before he whooped loudly, startling the other two boys in the room.

"What the fuck, Inuzuka?" Naruto grumbled, sitting up and wiping his mouth. His boyfriend, Derrick, slid off him, lazily throwing an arm around the blonde. Kiba scowled at them, hating the relationship—or, more accurately, hating Derrick—for reasons he couldn't even describe. All he knew was that there was something _wrong_ with Derrick and he didn't like it. He only tolerated having the man in his dorm room because Naruto had threatened to move in with him if he didn't, and Kiba would be _damned_ if he let his friend do that.

"Well, remember that girl I told you about? Hyuuga Hinata?"

"The one you met in Vegas?"

"Yeah, that one. She's arriving in New York next week and I'm going to go meet her." He grinned at the two of them, forgetting his dislike for Derrick in his joy at the prospect of seeing Hinata again. Despite their agreement to email only when she would arrive, she had messaged him not a week after he'd returned. 'To see if it worked,' she had said but they started 'talking' and he felt even closer to her than ever.

He fidgeted in excitement, already planning their first real date. She hadn't been to New York before so he figured they could see the tourist attractions. Maybe he could take her to the awesome sushi bar that was just a few blocks away from campus. No, he decided, he'd take her to the equally great French restaurant beside it; it was expensive but worth it for the romantic atmosphere it provided.

"You really like her, don't you?" Naruto smiled softly, bringing him out of his daydreams. Kiba nodded slowly but he noticed the vague traces of pain in those brilliant blue eyes, a pain that reflected sadness.

"I really do."

"Good for you." Naruto's face contorted slightly and an emotion passed through it in one moment, one that Kiba couldn't identify.

"Thanks." And, as he turned back to the computer, he was torn between worry for his best friend's odd moods and excitement that he would soon see Hyuuga Hinata, the only girl who was able to make him feel as though he were simultaneously drowning and flying on Cloud Nine.


	2. Mood Swings

Disclaimer I: This is a smut-mixed-with-emotions story, about two boys and sex. If that bothers you, please please _please_ don't read this. I am not responsible for any traumas you may have if you read this warning and decide to ignore it.

A/N: Now, I've never written a lemon before…I had too much trouble with the nosebleeds and blushing. So this is a first. Again, if lemons make you feel uncomfortable, GET OUT NOW! Thanks. Okay, be nice to me/smiles/ I'm sorry if it seems a bit rough around the edges. I didn't want to be _too_ graphic (though I think I might have failed in that…).

A/NII: Whew, it's been a looongggg time since I posted anything. /sigh/ Writer's block is hazardous to your health. Don't try it. With that said...read on!

Naruto turned, wanting to take advantage of his roommate's discomfort only to find the brunette gone. He grinned wolfishly and returned his focus on the show. He was getting into it—_really_ getting into it—when he was bumped roughly from behind. He stumbled forward, almost losing his balance completely, and went crashing into the slim body in front of him. The person, whom he almost immediately ascertained was male, pitched forward and would have fallen flat on his face if Naruto hadn't caught him by the waist.

"Whoops, sorry about…that." Naruto's mouth went dry as the other twisted his face around, confronting him with smoldering, inky-black eyes that contrasted sharply with pale skin glowing in the fluorescent lights of the club. Naruto figured the other was, at the very least, the same age as he was, if not younger. "H-hi."

The man ducked his head shyly, flushing pink. "Hi."

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uchiha Sasuke." The man blushed again but kept his gaze on Naruto. "Thanks for catching me." He flashed a brilliantly beautiful smile, and Naruto's hands, still on the other's waist, tightened instinctively.

"Not a problem," he replied, taking a step closer, so that his chest pressed against the other's slim back. He dipped his head to Sasuke's ear, a lock of raven hair brushing against his nose, and murmured, "You here with anyone?"

"Unfortunately, I am." As soon as the words were out of Sasuke's mouth, Naruto's heart dropped and he was about to step away when the raven continued. "With my best friend, his girlfriend, and three of _her_ best friends." Sasuke flipped long bangs out of his face and looked up into Naruto's. He put thin hands on Naruto's shoulders, using it as leverage as he stood on his toes, bringing his lips to Naruto's ears. "Why do you ask?" Naruto didn't answer, merely ground his pelvis against Sasuke's, growling at the contact.

"Oi, Sasuke-kun!" A girl's voice rang above the loud music and the screams of the other girls. At the sound, Sasuke let go of Naruto, who immediately regretted the loss of contact.

"We thought we'd lost you, Sasuke-kun," a blonde girl appeared, panting slightly as she stumbled forward and latched onto his arm. She was followed shortly afterward by a girl with short pink hair. Naruto glared at the two girls, wanting Sasuke to himself, disliking them for interrupting them.

"Ohhh, who is _this_, Sasuke-kun?" The rosette sidled over to Naruto, tucking a pink lock of hair behind her ear. "Hey, there, gorgeous. I'm Sakura. And you are…?" her voice trailed off and she laid a hand on his arm, batting her eyelashes at him, in what she obviously thought was a seductive way. Naruto would have been attracted; she _did_ have a pretty nice body and her wide green eyes, coupled with lush lips, had a very nice effect overall. It was too bad that her beauty paled in comparison with the man standing slightly behind her.

"He's with me," Sasuke growled dangerously, his eyes glinting maliciously in the darkness. His hand gripped Sakura's wrist, firmly removing it from Naruto's arm. Sakura's eyes widened knowingly—was that a hint of a smile?—but she pursed her lips, sulking.

"Hmph. Why do _you_ always get the good ones?"

"Because I'm hotter than you," Sasuke replied, smirking at her. She stuck her tongue out at him but he remained unfazed.

"Well, fine then," she huffed, crossing her arms. "Congratulations." Her glower disappeared and she grinned at him, apparently genuinely happy for her friend. Then, as though a thought had suddenly occurred to her, Sakura began scanning the crowd around them. "Come on, Ino. We've gotta find Hinata. And TenTen. I swear, Neji'd leave us here if they got lost somewhere." Sakura stared pointedly at her platinum-blonde friend, as though trying to get her point across without words.

"But—oh fine," Ino sighed, seeming to get the point. She cast longing eyes at Sasuke but let go of him, pushing him gently toward Naruto. As she followed Sakura back through the milling crowd, they heard her whine good-naturedly, "Tell me again, _why_ does he _have_ to be gay?"

"So…where were we before they interrupted us?" Sasuke asked over his shoulder, his bangs hanging alluringly in his eyes.

"I think we were just about to make plans to…do something later?" Naruto replied, hooking his arms loosely around the raven's waist, tugging him closer so that their bodies touched. He began to sway his hips in time with the music, all thoughts of the onstage strip tease gone.

The men were sexy, to be sure, but they weren't really his type; he much preferred the slim, slender ones, like this Sasuke, over the thick-muscled men. The ones like Sasuke looked fragile and delicate but looks were often deceiving. It excited him to think about what lay beneath the raven's pale, almost feminine exterior; he couldn't wait to get his hands on the hidden expanses of skin that, he knew, were just as soft and smooth and pale as the skin he _could_ see.

Now that they were alone, or as alone as they could be in the crowded club, Naruto's eyes wandered over the raven's body, which was clad in a long-sleeved, button-down black shirt that fit his body like a glove, allowing the whole world to admire the sleek planes of his muscled torso. Sasuke's dark jeans were set low—his hipbones could be seen—and they were tight-fitting, molding to the raven's body and allowing Naruto to take in the delicious curves of Sasuke's ass, the sensuous contours of his long, lean legs. It was funny just how turned on he was by this stranger, funny how he thought the raven fit absolutely perfectly against his body as they moved to the music.

When the beat picked up, so did their movements. Through the haze of lust that clouded his brain, Naruto noticed that they moved well with each other, matching their movements as though they could read the other's mind. Their breaths became pants and Sasuke soon reached back and tangled his hands in Naruto's shaggy honey-blonde hair.

"This your natural color?" he panted, leaning his head back to rest on Naruto's shoulder. The blonde thought it was strange to be asking such a question in the middle of their grinding, hips bumping oh-so torturously together, but he answered anyway.

"Why don't you wait until later to get your answer?" he teased, his lips curling into a lopsided grin, an action which the raven reciprocated, though he succeeded in looking a whole lot sexier.

"Why don't I find out now?" Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke's whirled to face him, long fingers tripping lightly as they moved to the waistband of his jeans. He looked down to see that Sasuke was really being serious; those fingers, bless them, were in the process of unhooking the button.

"Whoa, a little hasty, aren't we?" he asked lightly, though his hands stopped what Sasuke's were doing. "How about we enjoy this right now, right here, and then we can get to know each other better…later, okay?"

"Hmph," the raven pouted, and Naruto thought it was _such_ a cute pout, too. "Fine." The adorable pursing of lips disappeared and a teasing glint lit up Sasuke's face. "Then let's _enjoy_ it, ne?" Once again, their hips met, creating a delicious friction as their bodies undulated to the music.

"Now _that's_ hot. Iruka, why can't _you_ be like that?"

"Shut up, Kakashi." Naruto looked up, following the sounds of the voices, since he had a vague suspicion they were talking about him and Sasuke. He was right; to his left, about a foot away from them, stood a tall, young man with grey-hair and a slightly shorter man with black hair, tied in a ponytail. The grey-haired man was watching them with wide, hungry eyes but his friend or partner had an exasperated, irritated look on his handsome face.

"Why don't we give him a show?" Sasuke panted, just loud enough for Naruto to hear.

"Great minds think alike." Naruto licked his lips. "Now, turn around." Sasuke spun and Naruto promptly plastered his hips to Sasuke's backside. As they ground against each other, Sasuke reached behind him, holding Naruto's head, returning their bodies to their former position.

"Oh my god," the grey-haired man squealed. "Look! Why won't _you_ do that with _me_?" Naruto smirked to himself and lowered his lips to Sasuke's neck, kissing it. Sasuke tilted his head, hissing in pleasure, allowing Naruto better access to the pale, delicate skin. The blonde found Sasuke's pulse point and sucked on it, an action that his partner completely agreed with, judging by the moans coming from those luscious lips. Naruto looked up from the raven's neck and locked eyes with the grey-haired one, never stilling his movements to the music.

"Shit, Iruka!" the man exploded, obviously enjoying the show. Naruto noticed, amusedly, that he was hard. His blue eyes skipped to Iruka who wasn't enjoying anything, looking more and more irritated as he was being ignored in favor of the blonde and his raven-haired friend. Something snapped and Iruka suddenly grabbed the other, swinging him around, and kissed him savagely on the lips. When they broke apart, he glared.

"How was _that_, Kakashi-sensei?" he snarled, his eyes boring into the ones before him. Kakashi didn't answer, opting instead to crush his lips against his partners'. Naruto turned his attention back to Sasuke and he chuckled lightly though Sasuke's hands distracted him almost immediately from the odd couple.

In the back of his mind, he wondered whether he had any condoms with him because, although he hadn't planned on doing anything when he'd bought tickets for the show, he'd be damned if he didn't continue what fate had started. He bit down on Sasuke's neck and the raven threw his head back, making a funny noise between a moan and a scream. Naruto knew that if they didn't leave the club and do something, anything, _right away_, he was going to die of brain damage, if that was even possible from a prolonged erection. Sasuke seemed to be thinking along the same lines because he turned around suddenly, thrusting his erection against Naruto's.

"Hotel?" Sasuke gasped, his eyes closed, their hips never missing a beat.

"Mine," Naruto replied. He reluctantly stepped away from the raven but grabbed his wrist as he began to push impatiently through the crowd. Outside, the hot air seemed to press down on them, suffocating, but they nearly ran across the street to _New York New York_. Inside the hotel, past the casinos and the gamblers, the two raced to the elevators, and almost knocked each other over in their haste to claim the first available one. Because it was late, they had the elevator to themselves and Naruto couldn't hold back any longer. With a hungry growl, he pushed the raven roughly against the wall of the elevator. For a split second, he was nose-to-nose with Sasuke, their breaths mingling, blue eyes locked with midnight ones…and then the world spun away as their lips met hungrily.

Naruto groaned against Sasuke's mouth, and the raven swallowed it eagerly. He tasted like mint and something alcohol, mixing with a…taste and scent unlike anything Naruto had ever tasted. It was heady and hot and completely, utterly, wholly intoxicating. He nibbled on Sasuke's lower lip and they parted, allowing his tongue to slip into that warm, wet cavern. Naruto's fingers wandered to Sasuke's shirt, pulling it up and exposing a lean, toned stomach. Sasuke's hands tugged almost painfully on Naruto's hair when the blonde tweaked a nipple. Naruto cupped on hand under Sasuke's ass, propping him up, the raven helping him by wrapping one of his long legs around Naruto's waist. They continued to kiss passionately, though they were doing quite a bit of grinding as well, when the elevator slowed.

"Oh my!" a woman's voice shrieked.

"What the fuck?!" a man's voice bellowed angrily. Naruto glanced up from the kiss, noting that it wasn't his floor and that there was a middle-aged couple staring at them, eyes wide with surprise, and in the man's case, anger. He shrugged, allowing his gaze to drop back to the writhing body held up only by the wall and his hand.

"Let's get another elevator," the woman whispered nervously. "We shouldn't disturb them."

"Like I'd want to share an elevator with faggots."

"Ralph! It's not proper to say things like that…" the voices trailed off, the doors closed, and the elevator began to move again. Shortly afterward, it stopped, this time on the right floor. Both of them stumbled through the corridors until they reached Naruto's room. Sasuke's back was pressed against the door as Naruto fumbled with the key card, cursing until the lock beeped and he was able to press down on the handle.

"Watch the…ahhhh…door," Sasuke panted, stumbling backward into the room, his arms locked tightly around Naruto's neck.

"Don't worry, I gotcha," the blonde replied, dipping his head to capture Sasuke's lips again. In truth, he really had no idea where he was going, so caught up in the raven's taste and scent. They could have walked straight out the window and off the balcony for all he cared; he just wanted to continue the maddening assault on his senses with the taste of Sasuke's mouth and the smell of his cologne. However, Naruto also wanted to get in the raven's pants and had the sense of mind to lead the other to the closest bed. When the back of Sasuke's knees hit the edge of the bed, he fell back so that Naruto landed on top of him with a loud "Oof!"

Naruto sat up, straddling Sasuke's waist, and his fingers made quick work of the button-down shirt, practically tearing the article of clothing in his haste to get it _off_. He allowed himself a minute of appreciation for Sasuke's flawless alabaster skin before the raven's insistent hands obliged him to lean down. He nipped and sucked at the junction of Sasuke's neck as the raven tugged upward at the hem of his sleeveless, hooded sweater. Naruto raised his arms quickly, allowing Sasuke to rip it off and toss it on the floor, before returning to his previous actions.

He was drunk but not in the sense of having consumed too much alcohol (though, he had to admit that in the course of the night he _had_ had quite a bit, effectively creating a wonderful balance between tipsy and sober). No, he was _literally_ drunk from the heavenly taste of Sasuke's skin. Naruto allowed his eyes to slide shut, the better to revel in the onslaught of sensations and scents and—he groaned against the raven's hot, sweaty skin. His tongue swirled out, lapping up whatever it could and above him, Sasuke moaned, arching his taut body against Naruto's mouth. Slowly, the blonde trailed butterfly kisses down that perfect body, teasing Sasuke, until he reached his firm, smooth abdomen. At that point, he allowed his tongue to trace the lines of the muscles that shuddered at his touch and he grinned, knowing that he was turning the raven into a nice pile of goo, knowing that he had the power to make this man scream his name. Try as he might, Naruto couldn't—_wouldn't_—banish the wolfish, almost animalistic, leer that he knew now dominated his face.

He reached the waist of Sasuke's jeans and paused, much to the raven's displeasure. Sitting up, he contemplated the obvious (and rather large) bulge in the raven's jeans, a tiny sliver of doubt running through his brain. Should he _really_ go through with this, having sex with a stranger of whom he knew nothing but his name? _YES_, his mind cried, or that was just his hormones, he really couldn't tell anymore.

"Naruto," Sasuke moaned, his slender hands wrapping around Naruto's strong arms, pulling him down.

"W-w-wait," Naruto stuttered, reluctantly tearing himself away, still straddling Sasuke's hips. He glanced down at Sasuke's face and immediately wished he hadn't; the raven was staring at him with hazy, lust-filled eyes whose color flickered and smoldered in the dimly-lit room. Those eyes would be the death of him, Naruto knew; they were large, almost strangely so, but beautiful at the same time. Studying them closer, he realized that they weren't black as he had previously thought but a purple so rich and dark and _deep_ that they had easily been mistaken for an inky black. It was a color that compelled and seduced, allured and enticed, and Naruto's previous thoughts of power were banished; this man was the one who held all the power. It didn't help, then, that Sasuke was damned beautiful, purple eyes or no; his facial features had been sculpted by one of the great Renaissance masters and made alive, creating a living definition of what it meant to be perfect. Looking at him, staring at the raven who was lying underneath him, in a room that was lit only by the cacophony of neon lights that managed to pierce through the window, Naruto couldn't tell whether he was an angel or something else, something sent from Satan to tempt the weak.

"Naruto…please." The deep timbre of Sasuke's voice reverberated in the blonde's chest, making his heartbeat stutter and his stomach clench. "Please." Sasuke looked imploringly up at him and it was utterly amazing that he could look so damn sexy and yet so…innocent at the same time. It was enough to drive Naruto mad and, indeed, there was a little voice in his head that screamed at him to ignore all that he'd learned about safe sex and just _fuck_ the raven already, _practicality be damned_.

But he couldn't. He wouldn't. He would _not_, despite the hormones and his painfully throbbing erection, he simply _refused_ to have unprotected sex. Even if it meant that he wouldn't get laid. Even if it meant that Sasuke would curl his lip in disgust at the blonde's naiveté, push him away, and walk out the door, never to be seen again—an angel slipping through his fingers. Even if it meant that it would spoil the mood of crazy, wanton lust that was thickening the air and making it potent to breathe. No, Naruto wasn't going to do it. He _was_, however, going to put forth the question.

In the back of his mind, in some unoccupied space, the part of his brain that catalogued his experiences and acted as a disinterested, often cynical, observer, he thought he was being an idiot. There he was, straddling the waist of _the _hottest creature known to mankind, who happened to want him just as badly, was looking at him with those beautiful eyes, that gorgeous face, practically begging to be fucked. And there he was, hesitating. Because of what? Because he wanted to be safe.

Not just for _his_ safety either. He didn't want the raven, Sasuke, to be put at any risk of disease, either. Not that he was diseased, but precautions never hurt. There was something in him, a tiny pinprick of _something_ which was completely unidentifiable that wanted to protect Sasuke. The idea was actually pretty laughable, given the situation, but he wanted to make sure that _Sasuke_ would be safe as well.

"D-d'you have a—a—um," Naruto's mind went blank as he groped for a coherent thought, made near impossible since the raven was getting impatient and was rolling his hips against Naruto, bringing their clothed erections together. _SHIT_. "a condom?" Sasuke stopped moving for a brief second, staring up at him with a puzzled expression, almost as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Naruto dreaded the next part, expecting this to be the time when the raven would laugh at him, then leave. But it didn't happen; the disbelief and puzzlement left Sasuke's face and cleared dazzlingly into delight. Alright, it was more like a smirk but it still knocked the breath out of Naruto's lungs.

"Yeah. Back pocket." Sasuke lifted his hips off the bed and Narut hastily reached under him, rifling through his back pockets (and doing quite a bit of groping in between, which the raven seemed to enjoy), before he pulled out a condom and a tiny bottle of lube. He looked up at Sasuke, his eyebrows raised, the items in his hand.

"You came prepared. Did you plan to pick someone up?"

"Not…particularly. But it never hurts to…be…pre—ooooh—pared," Sasuke gasped between moans as Naruto ground their clothed erections together with renewed ferver. "So…ahhh…less," he gulped audibly, "less talk."

"My thoughts exactly," Naruto replied, and kissed Sasuke again. It soon became fierce, desperate almost as their mouths moved and their tongues fought for dominance. Naruto pushed Sasuke into the bed and, finally, the raven submitted to him. With a wicked expression, the blonde reached down and undid Sasuke's pants with one hand, the other brushed a stray lock of sweaty hair from the man's face.

"Hurry," Sasuke groaned, imploringly, gazing at Naruto with desperate eyes. It wasn't as if Naruto needed to be told but he nodded his head.

"Your wish is my command, O Hasty One." Using one hand to prop himself up so that he wasn't suffocating the petite raven beneath him, he returned his other hand to Sasuke's jeans, tugging them down. Sasuke hastily kicked them off, along with his shoes, both of which landed on the carpeted floor with muffled 'thunk's.

"You—aahh—are the o-ooh-nly p-person I kno-ooh-w who can make a joke du-during—sex," Sasuke mumbled almost incoherently as Naruto's hand teased his erection. The blonde laughed but it quickly died down when Sasuke's expression darkened.

"What?" he asked, almost fearfully. If they stopped, he was going to die. Sasuke shook his head and brought both of his hands to Naruto's waist.

"So are you a natural blonde, or what?" Without waiting for an answer, Sasuke deftly ripped off Naruto's jeans and boxers, both articles of clothing went flying through the air behind them as the blonde impatiently kicked them aside. Somewhere in all that had happened since he'd returned to the room, he had lost his shoes. And socks, which was strange because he really didn't remember taking them off. But all of his thoughts were distracted by the cold hands that wrapped around his erection.

"_Fuck_!" he groaned, loudly, shuddering as the raven's thumb slid along the shaft.

"Yes, that's what I'm _getting_ at," Sasuke replied, laughter and lust shaking his deep voice. "And you _are_ a natural blonde. Who'd a thought?" Naruto's vision cleared slightly and he looked down at Sasuke, who bit his lip and blushed cutely.

"Thought you said—less talk," the blonde grunted, diving down and plunging his tongue into Sasuke's mouth. As they kissed, he lifted Sasuke's waist and hastily pushed down his boxers, the damned clothing getting in his way. As soon as they were off, he parted Sasuke's legs with a knee and lowered his body between the raven's legs, their sweat-soaked bodies gliding against each other. With some difficulty, since his hands were shaking and his mind was barely working, Naruto managed to tear open the condom wrapper and slid it onto his weeping member. When he was ready, he growled and flipped the raven onto his stomach, coating a finger with the lubricant as he prepared Sasuke's entrance.

"Oh _god_," the raven moaned, arching his hips up to meet Naruto's fingers. When Naruto couldn't take it anymore, when he felt like he would burst just _watching_ the way Sasuke lost his composure as he writhed under the blonde's touch, Naruto removed his fingers and coated himself with the lubricant.

"Ready?" he asked as he positioned himself behind the raven, his hands on the slender hips in front of him. Sasuke turned his head and glared at him with a look that plainly asked, '_What do you fucking think?'_ Naruto smirked and leaned toward the raven, slowly pushing himself inside Sasuke. They moaned in unison and he was just about to start moving when the door was pushed open.

"Oooh, lookie!" an unfamiliar voice squealed.

"Holy shit!" That was Kiba's voice. Languidly, he glanced over to the door, where a petite young woman, who was swaying slightly, and a shocked Kiba stood. An evil idea crossed his head and he smirked mischievously before he thrust himself, hard, into Sasuke.

"Harder!" Sasuke cried, gripping the headboard to steady himself. He bent his head and kissed Sasuke's neck and back, licking and nipping; all the while, keeping his eyes firmly locked with Kiba's.

"Motherfucker." And his brunette friend was gone, the door slamming behind him. Naruto chuckled softly and he returned his attention to Sasuke, who was moaning almost pitifully.

"Who—who was—aaahhh—that?" he panted, arching his back when Naruto slipped his fingers around his erection.

"Nobody special," he replied huskily, as he began to thrust once more, pumping Sasuke's erection at the same time. He could feel himself losing control, the familiar coil of fire that raged in his belly was tensing, growing hotter, more potent—and with a loud cry, he came almost violently, slamming himself once more into the body below him. Sasuke shuddered now, and one last, brilliant stroke of Naruto's talented hand brought him over the edge. They collapsed together in a heap of sweaty, shaking limbs.

Slowly, Naruto rolled over onto his back and brought the slender raven to his chest, wrapping his muscled arms around the lithe body. For the moment, neither of them spoke, too busy trying to calm their erratic heartbeats, which seemed to race as one.

"Wow," Sasuke whispered throatily, absently tracing a birthmark that formed a jagged spiral around Naruto's belly button.

"Yeah," he agreed, still trying to catch his breath. They lay together for a moment or two before Sasuke raised himself to stare into Naruto's face. He brought a hand up to one cheek and his thumb ran across three large scars.

There was a question on his face as he stared at the scars and Naruto winced inwardly, waiting for the inevitable question. But it never came and he blinked in surprise, staring as Sasuke's hand simply caressed his face with a tenderness he had never known.

"It happened ten years ago," he said suddenly, unable to stop himself. "I was walking home and these guys jumped me and pulled me into an alley." His mind screamed at him to _shut up shut up shut up!_ but he couldn't. His mouth betrayed him and kept talking. "They beat me up pretty badly and then they decided they hated my face so one of them pulled out his knife and—I think the only reason they didn't just rip off my face was they heard a group of tourists pass by and they were afraid they'd get caught, so they just took off."

"Holy shit."

"Yeah. Somehow, I got myself home and I tried to stop the bleeding but it wouldn't stop so I went to the hospital. Eighteen stitches for each of them." He motioned to the scars on either side of his face. "One hundred and eight stitches in all."

"And your parents didn't say anything? Didn't they want to find out what happened to you?"

"I don't have parents." His voice held no feeling, no pain; he had long become used to explaining that he was an orphan, that his parents had died when he was merely a child. It wasn't no longer a fact he hated, it was simply a fact. He met Sasuke's gaze again and saw sympathy in those inky orbs.

Feeling sorry he had ruined the mood with his sob story, he flashed a brilliant grin to let him know he was fine. Lifting his head off the pillow, he captured those soft lips again and the kiss deepened into a slow, lazy gesture. Sasuke pulled away and laid his head on Naruto's chest and eventually, their eyes drifted shut and they fell asleep.

* * *

Naruto wrinkled his nose and groaned unhappily when the general noise of the city pulled him from his deep slumber. He opened his eyes, figuring he would take a shower before Kiba came back, and pulled at the sticky sheets clinging to his legs. Stretching, he leapt out of bed but stopped, allowing the nausea that came with sudden, downward rushes of blood, to pass. He stooped over and picked up his boxers, which lay discarded beside the bed, and put them on, feeling self-conscious for some reason.

His ears picked up the sounds of rushing water; Sasuke must have gotten to the shower first. He leaned against the closed door, too lazy to walk to the bed to wait, and from inside, he could hear muted cursing.

"Damn it damn it damn it!" the raven's voice cried and a thud punctuated each curse, as though he were banging his head or his fists on the tile. "FUCK!" Naruto's eyebrows furrowed in confusion; what had happened to piss him off so much?

He didn't have to contemplate the thought much, as Sasuke's shower ended and he exited the bathroom, nearly causing Naruto to fall against him when his support was suddenly taken away. The blond stumbled slightly but regained his balance and whirled around, finding himself in very close proximity to the other man.

"Morning," he muttered sheepishly. "Sorry." Sasuke merely grunted in reply, pushing past him. "Hey, is something the matter? Sasuke?" Naruto reached out to touch Sasuke's pale shoulder but his hand was slapped away.

"Don't touch me."

"What?"

"I said, don't touch me," Sasuke repeated, forced patience in his tone as he over-enunciated the sentence.

"But…" Naruto trailed off, watching Sasuke putting on the clothes he'd worn the night before.

"But nothing, Uzumaki. Leave me alone."

"I—thought you had a good time last night," he mumbled, hyper aware that he sounded like a hurt teenage girl. Sasuke snorted and eyed him with such disdain that Naruto visibly recoiled from the harsh glare, utterly bewildered at the other's sudden change of heart.

"_Last night_ was nothing to me. _You_ are nothing to me. I simply used you to satisfy my own sexual tensions." The raven smirked, coldly. "I'm outta here, _Naruto_. Ja ne." With a last sarcastic wave, Uchiha Sasuke disappeared.

Still taken aback from what had just occurred, Naruto shook his head and tried to force his sleep-muddled brain into processing the events of the morning but it didn't work so he decided he'd take a shower instead; at least the water would wake him up. Not even the extreme heat (or extreme cold) helped and he flopped onto the bed once he'd dressed, not bothering to dry his hair.

_"I used you."_ The words swirled around his head, over and over, the derision in them echoing in his ears. _"You are nothing to me."_ Well, Naruto had expected that—it _was_ a one-night stand, after all—but he didn't have to be such an asshole about it. He shook his head and stared absentmindedly at the wall, hearing nothing except those spiteful words.

"Naruto?" He jumped, his reverie broken.

"What?"

"I asked if you had a good night." It was Kiba, who must have just come back from wherever he'd stayed. Briefly, he felt a pang of guilt for what he'd done.

"Depends on what you call 'good,'" he replied, shrugging. He put a finger to his lips, as if feeling for Sasuke's kiss. There was a slight intake of breath and he knew what Kiba would do next so he simply shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay," his friend replied, sounding wary and more than slightly concerned. "I won't ask then." There was an awkward pause before Kiba spoke again. "What say you to getting something to eat before we head to the airport? We've got a few hours to kill before our flight."

He shrugged, his head still spinning. They had ramen—or the closest they could find to his favorite food—but he wasn't hungry and ended up picking at the mess of soggy noodles and cold broth. For the rest of the day, he could feel Kiba's eyes on him but he ignored the look. He couldn't face his best friend—what would the brunette say if he knew what Naruto had done, what had happened that night?

On the plane, it was easier to ignore his friend who had put on his earphones to listen to the in-flight movie, falling asleep before it was even halfway through. Naruto was left to lean his head back against the headrest and think.

It wasn't like he was completely innocent—or naïve—but in all his other experiences, he had walked away feeling at least a bit better than he was now. Sure, he usually felt something close to regret for giving into his lust _again_ but he'd never felt so—dirty.

He shuddered violently and brought his hands to his face, rubbing violently. Well, it was a mistake but he was human, he was allotted his fair share of mistakes. At least he would never see Sasuke again. That was good. He would never have to think that he'd spilled his whole, sordid life story to a stranger he'd just fucked, a stranger who, hours later, had smirked in his face and confessed he'd been using him. So the memory of the raven-haired, smoldering eyed Uchiha Sasuke was going to the Vault (as he called the murky depths of his brain where bad memories were kept), to be locked up, the key thrown away and lost. Uchiha Sasuke meant nothing.

But no matter how hard he tried to convince himself, Naruto knew he wouldn't ever completely, truly believe it.

* * *

"Kiba, I really don't see why I have to be here," Naruto whined, tapping his foot impatiently. "Their flight's been delayed for two hours and I swear, if you make me late for my date with Derrick, I'm going to kick your ass." He fidgeted in his seat, and craned his neck, once again, to check the time. 5:45. He sighed, tapping his foot impatiently on the carpeted ground.

"Stop that. You're making me nervous."

"Like you're not nervous already," Naruto scoffed, his mood foul. Derrick hadn't been very happy for the past week—his acting career was getting off to a slow start and he hadn't landed any of the roles he'd auditioned for. Naruto received the brunt of his boyfriend's frustration, which was why he was going to be in serious shit if he was late. He wasn't in the mood for a fight and didn't want to have to defend himself against unfounded accusations that he was fucking his best friend, or the guy at the coffee shop who'd winked at him, or the guy at the movie ticket counter who had been friendly and told him to "have a nice evening."

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you something," Kiba piped up. "Where'd you get that nasty bruise?" Naruto flushed scarlet and ducked his head, his fingers unconsciously pressing the ugly black-and-blue discoloration on the side of his face.

"It's nothing. I ran into a pole when I was walking home from the subway. You know how clumsy I am," he flashed a fake smile, "especially when I'm thinking about—stuff."

"Well, you seem to be more clumsy than usual," his friend replied in a tone of voice that dripped with suspiciousness and disbelief. "Be more careful, got it?"

"Yeah, thanks," Naruto whispered. Kiba would go through the roof if he knew that Naruto hadn't run into a pole but had been on the receiving end of Derrick's fist.

They had gotten into a fight in Derrick's apartment a few days ago and Naruto, hurt that his boyfriend had so little faith in his fidelity, had shouted that he may as well go fuck every good-looking guy who paid him the least bit of attention because at least he'd be getting something along with the accusations. It had been the wrong thing to say and, quick as a flash, he'd found himself flat on his back on the floor, stunned into utter immobility. Derrick had straddled his waist and given him a dirty leer, holding his wrists above his head, whispering something about a punishment. Naruto hadn't resisted and was soon lying on his stomach on the hard wooden floor, cringing in pain as Derrick thrust into him with more violence than was necessary. There had been no pleasure feeling his boyfriend come into him, and, for the first time in their relationship, he had closed his eyes and wished the night would just end. After Derrick had left—to get drunk, again—Naruto dragged himself to the bathroom and scrubbed himself raw, tears rolling down his cheeks. They had made up—Derrick had apologized the next day—but incidents like this were happening more and more frequently.

"They're here!" Kiba whooped, jumping to his feet. Naruto stood and plastered a casual, welcoming grin onto his face, prepared to meet the girl he'd heard so much about.

"Kiba-kun!" A petite girl with short black hair cried joyfully, rushing toward him, her bag thumping against her left leg. Kiba met her halfway and picked her up in a crushing hug.

"Hinata, meet my best friend, Naruto. Naruto, _this_ is Hinata."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," he bowed, taking her hand and kissing it gently. She gasped and blushed deeply, lowering her head and looking at him through her eyelashes.

"_Ahem_." Naruto looked up and stared into eyes that were so pale they looked almost completely white.

"Oh, Neji, this is Naruto. Naruto, Neji. He's Hinata's cousin."

"Ah. Pleased to meet you." Naruto shook the other's hand firmly, letting go of Hinata, who immediately moved away from him to take Kiba's arm.

"Can we _please_ get out of here?" a grumpy, too-familiar voice broke through the introductions. Naruto's blue eyes moved instinctively to the newcomer and his mouth dropped open in surprise.

"You!" The other gasped, pointing an outraged finger at him. The others looked surprised at the familiarity between two supposed strangers and Kiba was just about to speak when he was cut off by Naruto, who had finally found his voice.

"_Sasuke?!_"

A/N: Dun dun duuun! haha. So obviously, this is going to continue. However, life (in general) and a horrid, waaayyy-too-long writer's block have been kicking my ass so...don't expect another update too soon. I'll try and have it out asap but there aren't any guarantees. Ja ne!

Oh, and you should all thank MaximilianShade for sending me a lovely message (which made me very happy) and reminding me that I, in fact, had this chapter gathering dust on my computer. Hope you all enjoyed it. Reviews are welcomed and much appreciated!


	3. Midnight Apologies

It was him. The gorgeous blond he'd tried so hard to forget. And there he was, another mistake come back to haunt him. But, what a glorious, god-like mistake. Sasuke could hardly speak and, not trusting his vocal chords to remain steady—he refused to let Neji (or anyone else for that matter) hear his voice crack—he kept quiet.

"Do you know him, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, politely, unsure whether or not she should introduce them. _'Don't say it, don't say it,'_he prayed and, fortunately, the blond closed his mouth and inclined his head toward her.

"No, I'm sorry, Hinata, if I startled you. He reminded me of someone I knew."

"Oh, well, in that case: Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun, this is Sasuke-kun. He's a good friend of ours."

"Nice to meetcha," Kiba said easily, raising a hand in greeting.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Naruto said, the words muffled behind clenched teeth.

"Same." Sasuke smirked and stuck out his hand, which Naruto ignored.

"Well, not that this hasn't been unforgettably exciting, but I think I'll take my leave." Naruto pierced his friend with dark blue eyes. "Don't wait up for me tonight. I won't be home."

"You have a key, right?" Kiba asked absently. "You know how you are."

"_Shit_!" the blond cursed, searching his pockets. "I thought I had it with me!"

"Here. I have an extra." Kiba tossed a small key and Naruto caught it, already starting for the door.

"Hinata, Neji…Sasuke," he nodded to each one in turn but refused to look at Sasuke. "It was a pleasure to meet you all. Ja ne!"

"Hey may not look like it but he's half-Japanese," Kiba grinned in answer to the two cousin's questioning expressions. "Come on, then, let's get outta here."

Later, in the large apartment they would all be sharing, Hinata quietly approached Sasuke as he unpacked, an activity which consisted of his glaring at the wall and ruffling his already-messy hair.

"Sasuke-kun, are you sure you're okay? You've been quieter than usual since the airport."

"Oh, it's really nothing, Hinata-chan. Thank you for asking," he smiled wanly for her benefit but she remained unconvinced and sat down beside him.

"Sasuke-kun, are you—are you sure you and Naruto-kun hadn't met before? You seemed to—both of you seemed to hate each other."

"No, I don't think it was hate," he said. "I think that it was something different. Don't pay any attention to it, Hinata-chan," he replied, cutting off her protest. "I'm fine. I just—I'm a little out of sorts with the time change and the flight. I'll be back to normal after a good night's sleep."

"Well, okay, Sasuke-kun. If you need anything…"

"I'll be sure to let you know." Hinata stood and left but the look on her face told him that she was not happy with his answer and would be asking after him until she was.

"As soon as she was out the door, Sasuke leapt up and shut the door, locking it. He needed to be alone to gather his thoughts and compose himself. He was shocked, and the feeling was highly unpleasant as he was hardly ever caught off-guard.

"Dammit!" he cursed, slamming his fist on the table. He immediately regretted it. He calmed somewhat as he rubbed his aching knuckles. Naruto. His heart had leapt when he realized that the bond was, indeed, the very same one he'd fucked in Vegas. He'd been overcome with a wave of fear, panic, and he wondered what wrong he'd done to be reunited with his worst mistake. It wasn't that he'd never had a one-night stand before—he'd had plenty and his friends knew all about them—but his night with Naruto was the first he'd ever felt cared for. And he wasn't even sure if such feelings were real or if he'd just wanted them to be. He'd always been the one to stop things, to request that his partner use a condom but Naruto had been so insistent, so worried that they continue without one. Then the blond opened up to him and he knew, immediately, that it was something private and very personal and when they'd fallen asleep, he'd felt so safe, with the blonde's arms around him. That feeling of safety, of contentment, had absolutely terrified him. He'd never allowed himself to feel that way before and he wasn't about to start. So he'd insulted him, used the personal story and the aura of trust that had been created in such a short time to sharpen his attacks. He could still see the hurt manifest physically, could almost visualize his sharp words cutting into the blonde's core. He had regretted it, however, and spent the last few months trying desperately to push away the memory of Naruto's confused and hurt expression

"Sasuke, phone!" he jumped, startled, not having heard a telephone ring but he opened the door, took the cordless from Neji and closed the door again.

"Hello?" he grunted.

"Sasuke-kun!" He winced at the volume of the happy voice. "I miss you already. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Sakura-chan."

"Hm, you sure don't sound like it. Something's bothering you, isn't it?" This time, he winced at the accuracy of her statement, her ability to read him so well that, despite the fact that she was over 3000 miles away, she could tell he was anything but 'fine.'

"No, you're right. I'm not," he sighed in frustration, running his hands over his eyes as he settled into the bed.

"What's wrong?" she was alarmed, worried, and he could picture her eyebrows furrowing as her green eyes darkened. He shrugged though she couldn't see him and proceeded to tell her the whole story, starting with his night in Vegas.

"And now he's here and his best friend is Hinata's boyfriend _and_ Neji's friend and I'm going to see him even more! I don' t know what to do. I can't be around him. I don't know how to face him!"

"Are you sure you're being rational, Sasuke?" she asked, dropping the Japanese suffix to his name, as she always did when she was being especially serious. "I mean, I don't think he'll tell anyone about it. His friend didn't say anything to you, did he?"

"No."

"Okay, because Hinata was telling me that her new boyfriend is so protective of his best friend it's not even funny. And I'm guessing she meant this Naruto person. Apparently, he'd attack, either verbally or physically, anyone who'd hurt him. From what you've told me, you hurt him pretty badly but you're still whole. If Naruto hasn't told his best friend, why would he tell anyone else?"

"That's true but," he paused, wondering whether he really wanted to tell her.

"But what?" she prodded gently.

"But—he's a good person. I know I haven't known him for a long time but I just have this feeling, you know? And I hurt him. Things are going to get uncomfortable soon. I just feel so—I don't know—guilty."

"Because?"

"You weren't there, Sakura. I was an _ass_. I made a mistake and I took my anger at myself out on him. He hates me. I know it. Hell, I'd hate myself."

"Look, there's really nothing you can do about it. Apologize to him, it's really the least you can do."

"But that would mean talking to him," Sasuke whined, uncharacteristically pouting into the telephone receiver.

"Well, yes, that's the whole point, fool," Sakura retorted with mock impatience. "Just do it, okay? Anyways, I should be going. I'll talk to you later, got it?" He made a noise of assent and hung up, tossing the handset on the nightstand where it clattered loudly and knocked several items to the floor, which he pointedly ignored. He flopped on the bed and sighed, staring at the ceiling.

Sakura was right of course—she often was, despite his mock refusal to accept the fact, he chuckled to himself, she had certainly changed since he'd first met her in elementary school. She'd developed a huge crush on him and had formed "The Sasuke Fan Club," which dedicated itself to following him and giggling every time a word left his mouth. He'd hated her, found her such an irritating person that he'd gone out of his way to be mean to her; one time, making her cry when he'd called her a useless, immature, waste of carbon. Shortly after, he'd moved away to live with an old, creepy uncle of his but returned several years later to live with a family friend, Hatake Kakashi, who he liked much better than his old relative. On his first day at his new school, he was greeted by a rather pretty young woman with bright pink hair. She exuded a quiet confidence and, when he finally recognized her, he was surprised by her maturity, a stark contrast to her previous immaturity.

Needless to say, the two became good friends. She'd gotten over her obsession with him and was friendly instead of annoying. She was the first person he'd told when he figured out that he was gay and she was the one person he trusted with his true person, vulnerability and all.

His thoughts turned to Naruto again and his stomach twisted. He hated apologizing but, in this case, he knew it was necessary. They might as well be able to be civil with each other.

So when Neji knocked on his door and told him they'd be going out with Kiba and Naruto, Sasuke readily agreed, eager to get it over with.

The restaurant was nice; it was slightly more fancy than he'd expected and he was glad he'd changed into a button-down, long-sleeved shirt and black slacks. The host led them to the table where the two others were already waiting. Kiba had a huge smile on his face and he stood as soon as he spotted Hinata, pulling out a chair for her as he did. Naruto looked stunning in a deep burgundy shirt, much in the same style as Sasuke's, but he seemed more subdued, his eyes constantly shifting around the restaurant.

"Hey," Sasuke said as he took the empty seat beside the blonde. "Look, I need to talk to you."

"Not right now. Just leave me alone, okay?" Naruto spoke in clipped tones, fidgeting in his seat. He was strangely nervous and Sasuke wondered whether it was because he was there or for some other reason. He got his answer as the evening wound to a close and he excused himself to use the restroom. He'd just finished when Naruto and Kiba walked in. Quick as a flash, he ducked into a stall and pulled his feet above the door, holding it closed to it couldn't be opened and he be revealed.

"Why did I have to come anyway?" Naruto hissed angrily. Sasuke watched his shoes pace back and forth. "You know how Derrick gets, damn it!"

"Why should you have to be at his beck and call at all hours of the day, anyway, huh? It's not healthy, Naruto. You're not his slave. Or his whore and I hate to see him treat you like that."

"Shut up, Kiba." It was a command, serious and bitter. "I do not appreciate you saying that about me or my boyfriend."

"He's not," Kiba began.

"I said, shut up!" I don't want to hear it. I'm going. Don't wait up for me." The sound of receding footsteps and the door swinging shut told Sasuke that Naruto had made his exit and there was a brief period of silence before Kiba swore so explosively that Sasuke jumped and almost fell into the toilet. He stayed still, perched precariously above the porcelain bowl until Kiba left as well. When he ascertained that it was safe, he left and walked back to the table.

"Where's Naruto?" he asked, pretending to look around in confusion.

"He left." Kiba glared darkly at the wine glass in front of him. If looks could kill, Sasuke was sure the glass would have exploded in a dark red mess. The evening ended quietly; Naruto's exit and Kiba's subsequent black mood doused the cheer of the dinner as effectively as water put out small flame.

Back in the apartment, Sasuke locked himself in his room, replaying the fight he'd overheard at the restaurant. Honestly, he couldn't understand why the two would choose to have such a private conversation in a place where anyone could (and would) overhear. After a long while, he ventured into the kitchen for a mug of hot chocolate before bed; for some odd reason, Sasuke always had a sweet tooth right before he went to sleep and couldn't rest until he'd satisfied it. He was just starting to melt chocolate in the gently boiling milk when he heard a quiet knock at the door. He looked around—the apartment was dark and he knew that both the cousins were already asleep which meant that they weren't expecting any late night/early morning visitors. He certainly wasn't. The knocking persisted at the same volume and rhythm and he became irritated, switching off the stove and creeping into the hall to hear what was going on.

"Hello?" the soft whisper was barely heard through the door. "Hinata? Neji? Please, someone open the door." It sounded so desperate and, feeling sorry for the person on the other side, Sasuke opened the door.

Naruto stood before him, hand raised to knock again. The first thing Sasuke noticed was the state of his clothes which were ripped. Naruto's nose and lip were bloody and a bruise had formed around his eye, his hair was matted with blood from an unseen cut, and his whole frame shook, though not from cold as the hallways of the apartment building were always fairly warm. As soon as he recognized who'd answered the door, Naruto backed away quickly, averting his eyes. His face—what little of it that wasn't bruised or covered with blood—flushed red.

"Holy shit, what happened?" Sasuke yelped when he recovered his voice, unable to contain himself. "Jesus Christ."

"Not you," Naruto muttered, still backing away.

"Hey, come back here. I'm not letting you go back outside looking like that. Did you get mugged or something?"

"Is Neji here? Or Hinata?" _Anyone but you_. Sasuke bit his lip and shook his head, hardly surprised that Naruto would look for someone else.

"No, they're both asleep. Exhausted. Look, come in." He reached out and took a hold of the blonde's shirt sleeve, tugging lightly. He hadn't realized the extent of Naruto's injuries and was thoroughly surprised when the other let out a cry of pain and fell into him. He stumbled backward until his back hit the wall and he slid down, clutching at the blonde.

"You okay?" he panted; the fall had knocked him breathless.

"It hurts," Naruto whispered, his body trembling more violently.

"Okay. Here, um, sit down and, um, I'll get some to clean you up." Sasuke helped him to the soft couch, noticing that Naruto limped when he walked and winced with every movement, no matter how slow. Sasuke dashed to the kitchen, grabbing a towel on his way, and soaked it in warm water. Gently, he wiped the blood from Naruto's face, trying to avoid the fresh bruises. They were both silent.

"Do you—want to talk about it?" he ventured timidly. Naruto snorted.

"So you can throw it in my face again?"

"About that…"

"No, save it. I don't want to hear it."

"Okay, I deserved that but—could you just listen to me?"

"No."

"Fine then." They were quiet again. "Why didn't you go to Kiba? You obviously trust him more."

"Because I couldn't let him see me like this!" Naruto burst out, twisting away from the cloth; the action caused him to gasp and clutch at his midsection. "He'd know—He just can't know about this. I—I got mugged, okay? I was mugged."

"Alright, alright. You were mugged and happened to be near the apartment and I found you while I was taking a walk."

"Thanks. He just can't know, okay?"

"Okay. Is anything broken?"

"I don't know. My chest hurts a lot." Sasuke nodded and pushed up Naruto's shirt to reveal several angry bruises, many of which weren't fresh. He brushed his fingers against them and the blonde stifled a cry of pain.

"You may have broken a rib," Sasuke said quietly, furrowing his brow. "In any case, we should get you to a hospital to check." Naruto shook his head vehemently. "Come on. If it's broken, you could move the wrong way and it would puncture a lung, which could kill you, by the way. I'm taking you to the hospital."

"No."

"We don't have to tell them what happened. I don't even know. We'll tell them what we'll tell Kiba."

"Why?"

"Because you obviously don't want anyone to know what happened."

"No, I meant, why are you helping me? You were just using me. You have no obligation to help me."

"I—well I could hardly pretend to be human if I left you out there. And," Sasuke took a deep breath, "I'm sorry for saying those things to you. It was out of line and—I'm really sorry."

"Oh."

"Look, if I have to, I'll call an ambulance so you can come quietly with me or I can make a big fuss out of it and let's see you explain yourself out of that."

"Fine. Let's go." Sasuke smirked and helped him up.

"Well, nothing's broken," the young nurse smiled at the two men in front of her. "You're just going to be sore for a while. Take it easy. If the pain is too much, regular painkillers should do it."

"Thanks," Naruto grinned charmingly at her and she blushed. Sasuke glared at the two without really knowing he was doing it. A strange feeling rose in his chest but he immediately squashed it and threw it away.

"Is he free to go?" he asked, unable to hide his dislike for the nurse. She smiled at him with a sympathetic expression, having apparently attributed his rudeness to a dislike for hospitals.

"Oh yes," she replied but, as they made their way out the door, Sasuke saw that she was trying to think of a reason to keep them longer.

"Well, see you around!" she called in a hopeful tone as the glass door of the hospital slid shut behind them. The night was chilly and Naruto shivered, hugging his torso. Sasuke shrugged off his coat and dropped it over Naruto's shoulders, then wrapped his arm over the blonde's shoulder to keep him steady on his feet. They walked at a snail's pace and, even then, Naruto was having trouble. He stumbled once and cried out in pain, at which point Sasuke decided they'd better take a short break. Together, they plopped onto a cold wooden bench that was slightly damp as things were wont to get during the night. It started to drizzle then and both, sweating shortly from their laborious walk, tilted their heads toward the sky, welcoming the rain.

"He used to be so nice to me," Naruto whispered after awhile; he seemed to have forgotten that Sasuke was there. "I used to love being with him, looking forward to seeing him. Now—now," his voice broke into a little cry of sadness, "now, I dread seeing him."

Sasuke didn't say anything, sensing that now was not the right time to say something stupid, a habit he'd had since he could remember. He waited until Naruto sighed heavily before he even opened his mouth.

"Do you want to start heading back again?" The blonde nodded and Sasuke helped him stand. "I think you should stay at my place tonight, okay?"  
"No, I want to go home. Please."

"Okay," Sasuke agreed reluctantly. He hailed a cab and instructed the driver to Naruto's dorm. Not trusting the blonde to be able to get to the room by himself, Sasuke accompanied him and told the driver to wait while he helped Naruto.

"It's late, so I think Kiba's asleep," Naruto whispered, opening the door.

"Good night." He turned to leave when a quiet call brought him back.

"Hey, Sasuke? Thanks."

"Just don't let it happen again, got it?" Sasuke stepped closer and beckoned the other to lean in. Right up against his ear, the raven whispered, "He doesn't have a right to hurt you like that." Naruto said nothing but Sasuke could have sworn he'd given the tiniest of nods and the faintest of smiles before he disappeared into the dorm.

Sasuke went outside and saw that the cabbie had gone, probably lured away by another customer. Any other time, he would have been upset but he simply shrugged, welcoming the chance to get some air and think. He walked home, his hands deep in his pockets.

It wasn't until he got home that he realized Naruto still had his jacket—and he still had the heady scent that emanated from the blond in his nose.


	4. Confrontation

A/N: I'm sorry! I've had this chapter written for awhile, I could have sworn I'd posted it. Well, in any case, it's here and…better late than never, right/smiles/

Disclaimer: Much as I wish, I don't own them. Nor am I making any money off them.

Neji rolled over in bed, groaning. Slowly, slowly, he was pulled from a very, _very_ nice dream about Ten Ten by the sound of pounding at the door and the muffled shouting of an obviously angry person. He waited, hovering slightly between sleep and waking, to see whether the person would give up and go away. It continued, however, and he forced himself out of bed, yawning widely.

As he got into the hallway, the shouting became clearer and he could distinguish words amidst the banging.

"Hey! I know you're in there, you fucking bastard, open the door! I'll do this all day if I have to—Neji!"

"Kiba," Neji growled, "what are you doing here _this_ early in the fucking morning?" At least the other had the graces to look slightly sheepish as he pushed past the Hyuuga into the apartment.

"Where is he? Where's Sasuke? Which one is his room?" Neji stifled a yawn as he pointed to the only closed door in the hall; Hinata was already in class. Kiba stormed over to it and threw it open. It took a few seconds for Neji to realize just what his friend was doing but, when he did, he rushed over to stop Kiba from an action that would likely result in his gruesome death. Frankly, he was surprised that the door hadn't been locked; Sasuke was anal retentive about keeping his privacy.

"Kiba," he hissed, stepping forward to pull the boy back. Kiba avoided him and approached the bed, making no effort to be quiet as he did so.

"What did you do to him, you bastard?" Kiba shouted, kicking angrily at the bed frame. Sasuke jolted upright, instantly alert, his face tense and expectant. The expression melted away to something resembling confusion when Sasuke realized that it was Kiba standing in his room. "What did you do to him?" Kiba repeated loudly.

"I don't understand what the hell you're talking about," Sasuke replied in a hoarse, sleep-clogged voice. "So if you'll be so kind as to _go the fuck away_," he pointedly lay down and rolled over so that his back was to the others. It was an obvious dismissal, which made Kiba growl low in his throat.

"No! No, I won't be so kind. And I won't go away until you stop giving me this bullshit and tell me what you did. I want to know what fucking happened last night!" Sasuke sat up again and the glare in his eyes was so venomous that Neji was surprised Kiba's balls didn't shrivel or that he didn't drop dead on the spot. The Uchiha was bristling and, as Neji had learned the hard way, when he bristled, no one was safe.

"Kiba, calm down," Neji said, stepping up and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"No, I won't fucking calm down!" Kiba shook him off and pointed a shaking finger at the raven in the bed. "He hurt my best friend so badly he can hardly move!"

"Hey, wait one second," Sasuke snarled, provoked into reacting, "how dare you assume that I hurt him. Where the hell did you get such a ridiculous idea?"

"I went in to wake him up for our run and he was fucked up. A black eye, bruises all over his face. And he was crying. Crying! When I left the room, he was moaning. I heard your name, you bastard. What the fuck did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything! Jesus Christ! I was taking a walk and—and I saw him in an alley, curled up and already looking like shit. He said he was mugged. Happy?" Kiba backed off slightly, unsure whether he should or shouldn't believe him. Neji knew better; having been a close friend of Uchiha Sasuke for years, he'd learned how to tell when Sasuke was lying—and he was lying now.

"Wait—mugged?" Kiba asked, bewildered.

"Yes! He was mugged and I found him, cleaned him up and brought him to the hospital to make sure nothing was broken. He's going to be fine but he's got a few bruised ribs which would explain why he won't move."

"Oh." Kiba shuffled awkwardly on the spot. "Well then, I'm sorry, I guess." He shrugged his shoulders, sheepishly. "I guess I'll be heading to class. See you." He lifted a hand in a farewell gesture and let himself out of the apartment, still looking rather embarassed. As soon as they were sure he was gone, Neji rounded on his friend.

"Liar," he accused. Sasuke didn't protest; he just looked away.

"How'd you know?" he asked vaguely to the window.

"Don't be stupid, I always know. Why'd you lie to him?"

"If you think it's because I _did_ hurt him, it's not. It's nothing like that."

"Right," Neji scoffed. "So tell me, why you two looked like you hated each other so much when we met that first time? You should have seen the look on your face." Sasuke shifted his gaze to the wall and Neji knew that he was on the right track.

"Because," Sasuke hesitated.

"Because?" Neji prompted, slightly impatient. Sasuke met his eyes again and the Hyuuga was surprised that the inky black orbs were haunted.

"We _had_ met before. That night in Vegas, when we were there for the summer."

"You do realize we spent several nights there, right? You'll have to be more specific than that."

"That night! You know," he rolled his eyes, "when Ten Ten dragged us to see that Chippendales show!"

"Ohh," Neji nodded. And then, "oohhh. I get it now. Was Naruto the 'hot blonde' Sakura said you were going to hook up with?"

"It was supposed to be a one-night stand," Sasuke murmured. "He was supposed to be a hot stranger that I fucked in his hotel room on his best friend's bed but now he's here and his best friend happens to be my friend's boyfriend."

"Well, it's not like it's never happened before. Why are you so uncomfortable with it now? Besides he looked like he wanted to wring your neck."

"I said some things to him."

"Like what? Pointed at him and laughed? Or called out someone else's name?"

"It was nothing like that. It was just—he shared something to me, something really personal and I laughed in his face and told him I was just using him. I mean, obviously we were using each other but—I don't know." Sasuke rubbed his face tiredly. "I went over the line." Neji could tell, by the look on his friend's face that shouldn't press the subject. He knew Sasuke well enough to tell that, although he was trying to hide it, he was still feeling guilty about the whole affair.

"I apologized to him. Last night, I mean."

"That's good."

"Damn it, Neji! Why did it have to be him? Anyone but him! What is it about him that makes me feel so—oh, shit, I dunno—so fucking weird?"

"Weird?" Neji sat down on the bed, knowing that this would take a while. Sasuke had a habit of saying cryptic things and, only with patient and subtle prompting, would he begin to open up. He hardly ever let his guard down and Neji was one of the only people who knew how to get the cautious raven to speak his feelings.

"I don't know. I really don't, but I _hate_ it. I hate that I worried about him last night, that I was compelled to go out of my way to make sure he'd be okay. I don't get it!" Sasuke buried his face in his hands and mumbled something that was incomprehensible.

"Do you think that maybe—you like him?" Sasuke jerked his head up so quickly it looked like it would hurt.

"No! NO, that's not it! Not at all!"

"Okay, okay, Jesus Christ, calm down." Neji shook his head, wondering why Sasuke had to be so stubborn.

"I'm going to get ready for class. I'll see you later." He grabbed some cloths and fled from the room, though Neji stayed put. He almost felt bad for Naruto; Sasuke was hard enough for most people to deal with but, when he was in denial about his feelings for someone, he was particularly nasty. He knew Sasuke would rather redouble his efforts to be mean to the poor blonde, who probably wouldn't even know what hit him.

Neji smirked, thinking that maybe he shouldn't have said anything. But this way, there'd at least be some entertainment. Besides, he, Kiba, and Hinata were there at least to keep the two from murdering each other, since he was sure that Naruto wouldn't take any of Sasuke's abuse without retaliation. No, Neji was glad that Sasuke was adamantly refusing feelings he knew were there. Things were just about to get very interesting.

Later, as he walked through NYU's campus, cursing to himself that he should have asked Hinata where her classes were located, he ran straight into a tall, lean young man who was wearing a forest green vest over a mesh shirt and cargo shorts.

"Excuse me," he bowed politely, not really paying attention as he tried to walk around the boy who had turned his head to acknowledge Neji.

"Troublesome."

"What?" Neji did a double take and took a closer look at the person. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Nara Shikamaru," he smirked and crossed his arms. "I would have thought you'd be too lazy to attend a university."

"Yeah well," Shikamaru shrugged, leaning against the doorway, ignoring the grumbles from other students who were pushing impatiently past him.

"You're blocking the door," Neji felt it his duty to state the obvious but Shikamaru just shrugged again.

"It's too troublesome to move."

"Right."

"Besides, I'd rather be outside, where I can see the clouds."

"Then why are you here in the first place?"

"My mother insisted. And my father gave in to her, as usual." Shikamaru sighed, "In any case, I figured I'd come here, a few of my friends were coming."

"Shika! Hey!" Neji turned at the sound of the familiar voice and saw Naruto walking toward them, his denim messenger bag thumping against his hip. He frowned, seeing the bright smile marred by a cut lip and surrounded by bruises and adorned by a large Band-Aid across his forehead. He also noticed that Naruto was walking in such a way that it was apparent that it hurt to move, that he was only pretending to be fine. As he came closer, the strain in his smile became more obvious. So this is what Kiba was talking about, Neji mused to himself. He agreed, Naruto was "fucked up," so to speak.

"Naruto." Shikamaru nodded his head, his lips turning downward as he, too, noticed Naruto's appearance. Like Neji, he chose not to say anything. The blonde grinned wider and slung his arm around the lazy boy's shoulders, in an action that was meant to look nonchalant but Neji's observant eyes caught the slight wince.

"I haven't seen you in the longest time! How've you been?" Naruto asked, addressing Shikamaru but looking at Neji, his blue eyes pleading with the raven not to ask him anything.

"I've been fine. Just fine. Geez, you're loud." Naruto laughed and then acknowledged Neji. "Hey, you're Kiba's girlfriend's cousin, aren't you? Ehm," he turned red and rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner, "I'm sorry, I forgot your name."

"It's Neji. And I already know you're Naruto."

"You guys know each other?" Naruto asked, looking from one to the other.

"You explain," Shikamaru sighed, his hands rising to cradle his head against the metal door frame.

"We used to—fuck!" he cursed as an impatient student accidentally stamped on his foot with her thin, sharp heel.

"You guys used to fuck?" Naruto repeated, his brows furrowing. Beside him, Shikamaru snorted with slight amusement. "I thought you had a girlfriend?"

"No, that's not what I meant! We met at a camp our parents used to send us to every summer. It was supposed to build social skills. The only thing I learned was how to unhook a bra with one hand."

"And I learned how to tune out the sound of moaning coming from my roommate's bunk." Shikamaru threw a half-hearted dirty glare at Neji, who feigned innocence. Naruto hid his laugh behind his hand, then punched Shikamaru lightly on the arm. Neji caught the pained grimace that resulted from the casual gesture.

"Man, I didn't know you were coming here too! This is awesome!"

"Troublesome. I don't see why I have to be here. I mean, I already know all this stuff."

"Oh, stop bragging," Naruto sighed. Neji chuckled, so he wasn't the only one who found Shikamaru's genius to be irritating at times. As he spoke, Naruto grabbed Shikamaru's vest and began dragging him away from the door. "But, why here? Wouldn't your mother have wanted you to go somewhere closer to home?"

"Hmph. None of the universities where I live are good enough. Except maybe UCLA," Shikamaru made a face, "and they rejected me."

"Ouch," Naruto wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, good thing I didn't apply and waste 60 bucks."

"And the worst part is that other people just as lazy as me got accepted. And I'm much smarter than all of them."

"Aha! Someone's bitter I see," Naruto nudged Shikamaru in the ribs. "Why didn't you tell me you were planning on applying here?"  
"I'm not bitter," Shikamaru pulled a face. "I just don't see why I was rejected when Chouji was accepted."

"Ah, so _that's_ where he went…hey! Don't try and change the subject! Why didn't you tell me you applied?"

"Because I knew you'd be troublesome about it. And because I was certain I'd get into UCLA. I didn't want to disappoint you if I didn't go to the same school."

"I'm a big boy, I could have handled it."

"Oh, that's bullshit. I know you. You'd whine and pout and generally be troublesome." At this point, Neji decided he'd cut in with a question that had been bothering him.

"Wait, so, how do you two know each other?"

"Me and Shika have known each other since we were ten. Remember?" Naruto asked Shika.

"How could I forget? You were the loudest idiot in the class."

"And you were the oldest. We were in the same class," Naruto clarified in response to Neji's perplexed look. "This one here may be a genius but he was in my grade when he should have been in the one above it."

"Hey, it's not my fault my mother sent me to school a year later than she should have. In any case, I'm still smarter than the lot of you."

"Right," Naruto laughed. "So, Neji, I don't think I asked you this but…what are you doing here? Aren't you attending Columbia?"

"Of course I am but I left my keys in the apartment and Sasuke's gone to God-knows-where, sulking of course, so I have to find Hinata to get _her_ keys."

"Ah, right. Okay. Well, I'm on my way to my dorm, so if you want, you can join me." Neji and Shikamaru exchanged glances and nodded.

"Sure, I don't have anything else to do," Shikamaru shrugged his right shoulder and pushed off against the frame, slouching a few steps away from the door. As they walked, Neji glanced surreptitiously at the blonde and, though he was by no means attracted to men, he had to admit that he could se why his friend was so interested in Naruto.

It wasn't just that he was good-looking (hell, if Neji was gay or a girl, he'd have said 'hot') but that he also exuded a natural confidence that made others gravitate toward him. Sasuke was the coldest person he knew and to have him acting hot and bothered where Naruto was concerned was unnerving—and proof that Naruto was special. Of course, with the Uchiha in denial, Neji wasn't so sure that the blonde would stick around long enough to understand. This had happened only one other time in all the years Neji had known Sasuke, back when they were in the eighth grade, right before they were to enter high school. For some reason that Neji only slightly understood, Sasuke had a problem admitting that he was capable of something as vulnerable as liking someone who might not like him back. As a result, he'd made it his personal goal to drive the poor boy out of the school and had started a vendetta against him. It wasn't long before the boy had left, transferred to another school district altogether.

So, of course, to keep Sasuke from making the same mistake with Naruto, Neji concluded that he would simply have to interfere and have a little chat with the blonde.

"Hey, Naruto, could I talk to you for a sec?" Neji asked. Naruto seemed a little surprised but he consented.

"Sure."

"Alone." Neji stressed the word and raised his eyebrows pointedly at Shikamaru who rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine, I get the hint." He began walking away. "Ja ne."

"Hey, Shika! I'll catch up with you later, okay?" Neji waited until the other had disappeared before he turned to Naruto, who was watching him with curious eyes.

"Well, you may think that this is a weird question but I was wondering if you knew Sasuke. Before the airport, I mean." He already knew the answer but he wanted to hear it from Naruto's point of view.

The blonde's face flushed slightly but his expression remained impassive. It was too calm and Neji knew he was deliberately keeping his face blank.

"What makes you think that I knew him before?" His voice was steady; again, too calm. He was impressed; had he not known Sasuke for so long and not learned how to read expressions and all the slight nuances of the human face, he would not have been able to tell that the blonde was really uncomfortable with the subject. Of course, Neji was so used to prying into Sasuke's psyche and getting him to talk that he was confident Naruto would tell him what he wanted to know.

Now, he fixed Naruto with a half-disbelieving stare and replied, "Oh come on, you don't think for a minute that no one noticed your surprise at seeing each other. And I doubt that that surprise was merely because he looked like someone you knew."

"He did!" Naruto protested feebly but Neji smirked and raised his eyebrow. Naruto stared at him for a moment and then sighed. Neji allowed his smirk to widen; that was easier than he'd expected—either Naruto was softer than Sasuke or he'd improved his stare.

"Alright, alright." Looking really uncomfortable, Naruto began walking again and Neji followed. They walked along the path for a long while; Naruto was silent though Neji figured that he was simply gathering his thoughts. Eventually, the blonde took a deep breath and began.

"I played a prank on my friend last summer. See, we were in Vegas and I tricked him into going to a Chippendales show with me. He got pissed, stormed away, and met your cousin. I knocked into Sasuke and—well," Naruto shrugged, "he was hot. We started flirting and one thing led to another."

"Ahh, I see. So he was a one-night stand come back to haunt you?"

"Something like that," the blonde muttered, hanging his head so his bangs covered his blue eyes. There was anger, bitterness, and something else that Neji couldn't place tingeing his words. "He's not so bad. I just—holy shit." Naruto stopped dead in his tracks and Neji looked at him, confused. Naruto had turned white as a ghost and there was dread and terror on his face. Following his gaze, Neji saw a tall, muscular man standing in front of them, blocking their path. He had dark brown eyes and wavy brown hair styled neatly; the man would have been good-looking, Neji mused vaguely, if not for the ugly expression contorting his otherwise handsome features.

"Where have you been?" the man hissed, as he stormed toward them. Naruto's amiable confidence seemed to shrink with each step until, when the man was about a foot away, all that was left was a timid fearful shadow of the person Neji had met. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"I was in class, Derrick. There's nothing wrong with that." Despite the bold words, Naruto's voice wavered uncontrollably, betraying his fear. Derrick snarled and stepped closer, causing the blonde to step back.

"You were supposed to meet me ten minutes ago and now I find you…with this?" Neji frowned and then stepped forward, opening his mouth to speak. Naruto, however, placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head in warning.

"Derrick, I'm sorry. I—we were just talking. He's _just_ a friend." Neji noticed that the contact between them seemed to irritate Derrick further, despite the reassurances.

"Friend, right," Derrick snorted, his hands closing into tight hard fists. "If I had a penny for every time I heard that, I'd be a millionaire. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Stop it! We really _are_ just friends. His cousin is Kiba's girlfriend. That's how we met. How many times do I have to tell you that I would _never_ betray you?" Naruto sounded desperate now, his blue eyes wide with terror.

"Shut up. SHUT UP!" The larger man roared and swung blindly at Naruto; his fist connected with the side of the blonde's face.

"Derrick," Naruto whispered, holding his cheek. "Dammit, I would _never_ do that to you."

"You're coming with me."

"I'm not finished talking with Neji. I'll be there in a minute." The blonde's voice shook but his mouth was set in a determined line.

"I said, you're coming with me!"

"No." Naruto stood straighter and looked him right in the eye. Derrick growled and then punched him around the face with such force that his feet left the ground as he fell. The blonde groaned quietly, dazed. Neji stepped forward, between Naruto and his irate boyfriend, though he was hardly a fighter.

"You're not getting any closer to him. Not until you calm down."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The question came, not from Derrick, but from Naruto. "Neji, what—what do you think you're doing?" The blonde scrambled to his feet, grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

"This is not your problem, asshole. Get out of the way!" There was bloodlust in Derrick's eyes and he stormed forward. Neji tensed his body but he was still unprepared for the force of the blow; it sent him reeling back and he would have fallen if Naruto hadn't caught him.

"Stop it!" Naruto shouted, panicked, as his boyfriend pulled back his arm to hit Neji again. "Derrick, stop it! I'll—I'll go with you, okay? Just leave him alone."

"Protecting that shit, are you?" The man snorted in a bemused sort of way and then reached out. Naruto winced, obviously expecting another blow, but Derrick just grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Neji, who was sitting on the ground, trying to stop his vision from blurring.

"I'm sorry," he mouthed before facing forward again. Neji shook his head and put a hand to the side of his head, groaning in pain.

"Oi, what are you doing sitting there?" Shikamaru's drawl floated over him.

"I wasn't doing it for the hell of it," Neji muttered. He struggled to his feet and lifted his head. There was a sharp intake of breath and Shikamaru chuckled slightly.

"That's quite a bruise you got there."

"Yeah, and if I'm not mistaken, Naruto's got plenty of these." Neji hissed as he felt the bruise around his eye and wondered how he would explain this to Hinata, who would worry. Sasuke wouldn't care.

"What? What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked sharply. "What happened? You two get into a fight?"

"No, no. I got between him and his boyfriend—big mistake." Shikamaru's face darkened and his eyebrows contracted.

"His boyfriend did this?"

"Yes, and I suspect that his boyfriend hits him even harder and more often. Naruto was terrified of him." He picked up his bag where he'd dropped it and dusted it off before he slung it back over his shoulder.

"Oh, hey, I ran into your cousin just now. I told her to meet us at the coffee shop on the corner, is that okay?"

"Sure," Neji shrugged, "okay. I'm just—damn, she's going to ask questions." Neji pressed two fingers to the area around his eye and hissed when it sent a spark of pain shooting through his face. Shikamaru's nostrils flared and he began grinding his teeth, his jaw rigid; he was pissed.

"So should we tell someone?" he asked.

"No, but I think somebody already knows about this. Let's talk to Sasuke."

"Sasuke?"

"He's sharing the apartment with me and Hinata. I think he knows…" Neji shrugged and then jumped when he heard a loud voice behind him.

"Neji! Hey, Neji!" It was Kiba and he was running toward them.

"Shit, what should I—hey Kiba!" Neji plastered what he knew was a completely unconvincing smile on his face; the brunette merely looked at him skeptically.

"Hey, whaddaya know? It's Shika! How are you, man? Whoa, Neji, what happened to your eye?"

"It's nothing," he shrugged nonchalantly, "Bit embarrassing really."

"Oh, I see how it is," Kiba smirked, elbowing him in the ribs, "you ran into something, didn't you?" Neji sighed and changed the subject, hoping to distract the other.

"Hey, we were supposed to meet Hinata at the coffee shop on the corner but Shikamaru and I need to do something. We don't want to keep her waiting. Do you think you could meet her instead?" It worked. Kiba brightened and nodded, dashing away as he called goodbye to them.

"Nice. He always was easily distracted," Shikamaru chuckled quietly. "Now, where can we find this Sasuke?"

"Come on, I think I know where his last class is. I don't think it's ended yet but it should soon," Neji beckoned the way, checking his watch as he went. They were each caught up in their own thoughts, not feeling the need to speak. When they reached their destination, the long-haired raven waved to Sasuke, who trudged toward them.

"What do you want?" he asked brusquely, shooting Shikamaru with a severely mistrusting look.

"Sasuke, this is Shikamaru. Shikamaru, Sasuke."

"Right. Sasuke, what do you know about Naruto's injuries?"

"Injuries?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms, his guard up so instantly that Neji could practically see the walls being built. "Why do you want to know?"

"We think his boyfriend abuses him," Shikamaru replied, blunt as always. "We were just wondering if you knew anything about it." Sasuke didn't show any surprise except for the slight widening of his eyes. Even that reaction was hidden as he leaned back and crossed his arms, the very picture of nonchalance.

"I don't know anything about that," he said flatly. Neji heard a low growl and then Shikamaru was in front of Sasuke, glaring into his eyes. They were practically nose-to-nose, Shikamaru's chest brushed against Sasuke's crossed arms. He didn't say anything and there was barely a hint of animosity on his face but there was a hard, searching stare that caused Sasuke's hackles to raise. It was an inappropriate moment since things were getting out of hand but Neji was suddenly struck with the amusing image of two dogs squaring off against each other. He snorted and the two boys' heads whipped to face him. When he shrugged, their attention returned immediately to each other.

"You _do_ know something," Shikamaru replied, almost threateningly. "You know something and you're going to tell us." There was no room for argument in the way he spoke and Sasuke's black eyes flickered to Neji's pale ones for a moment before a slow smirk grew on his lips.

"Fine. I'll tell you two but we're going to have to go back to the apartment first. I'm not discussing his personal life where just anyone can hear us."

"Fine." Shikamaru made a sarcastic gesture with his arm. "Lead the way." Sasuke didn't speak until they had entered the large apartment, then closed and locked the door. Both Neji and Shikamaru took seats in the living room; Sasuke remained standing.

"Well, Sasuke, you said you'd talk," Neji reminded him quietly when several minutes had gone by without a word said.

"I don't know everything. What I do know is that Naruto showed up here last night looking like shit. He never said specifically who hurt him so badly but he mentioned who I'm guessing was his boyfriend once—how he was scared of him, etc. Judging from that…" he trailed off, leaving the others to make their own judgments.

"Dammit, do you know why Naruto's still with him in the first place?"

"No," Sasuke replied, "though he did say his boyfriend used to make him really happy." He snorted scornfully and Neji caught the flash of anger and—was it?—worry in the other's eyes. He raised his eyebrow; that was interesting.

"We've got to do something about this," Shikamaru muttered. "It's troublesome but we have to."

"And what do you suggest we do?" Sasuke snapped. "Naruto lied through his teeth at the hospital about being mugged. Hell, he doesn't even want _Kiba_ to know and the guy's his best friend. It's not like he's going to admit to anything in front of us."

"He's got a point," Neji said thoughtfully when Shikamaru opened his mouth. "We can't help him unless he wants it."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Sasuke repeated, still impatiently.

"We need solid proof. It's not like we can make accusations without that," Neji replied, pursing his lips slightly with thought.

"So?" Sasuke asked, his fists clenched. Neji smirked to himself; it had been a long time since he had seen Sasuke so riled.

"So we watch and we wait," Shikamaru said quietly, a determined glint in his eye. "We watch and we wait."


End file.
